At Simon & Schuster, Allison Stegeland has been promoted to the newly created position of international sales manager. Shannon Grant joins the independent sales team as field sales account manager for the Southern California and Arizona region as well as select educational jobbers. She was previously senior children’s book buyer at Books Inc. Gabrielle Greco becomes telesales manager, starting June 17. Melissa Hurt joins as telesales manager, effective June 24. She was previously sales support coordinator for special markets at Harper Collins. Kristen Bianco has been promoted to associate publicist for Algonquin Books and Algonquin Children’s. Morgan Hoit will join […]
Bookstores
Briefs
Boston Globe books editor Paul Makishima has left the newspaper. Barack Obama and Michelle Obama have another production deal; under this one, their production company Higher Ground will “develop and produce podcasts” exclusive to Spotify. The Obamas “are expected to participate in at least some of the podcasts, which “could potentially mean hosting, narrating or interview roles.” Entertainment Weekly, which has continued to provide substantive coverage of books and authors, will become a monthly publication as of August. New editor-in-chief JD Heyman insists in the press release, despite all reason, that “With the transition to a new monthly frequency, readers […]
Now Official: Elliott Advisors to Buy Barnes & Noble, Daunt to Become CEO
Following quickly on a WSJ advance report Thursday that was slightly off, “funds advised by” Elliott Advisors in the UK have an agreement to buy Barnes & Noble for a modest $6.50 a share. That’s about $476 million to purchase the shares outstanding, plus the assumption of long-term debt makes the cash purchase “valued at” approximately $683 million. Barnes & Noble shares are trading at about $6.60 in the first hour — perhaps accounting for the quarterly 15 cent dividend they still get to pay out before the deal closes, though also possibly indicating an expectation from some investors for […]
Booksellers Discuss Health Insurance, Wage Pressures, Direct Publishers Sales and More
The American Booksellers Association’s annual Town Hall meeting at Book Expo always provides an interesting window into the issues on booksellers’ minds, and this year’s version was focused squarely on practical matters. First and foremost, booksellers wanted to know what happened to two promised initiatives from the past: Affordable group health insurance for booksellers and their employees, and the launch of a US version of Batch, the UK’s centralized digital invoicing and payment system. ABA ceo Oren Teicher said, “There is nothing more that I want to get done while I’m still at ABA than for stores to have access […]
Books Are Sidelined at the Expo, But ABA Membership Has Modest Gain
The AP runs their traditional Book Expo preview, and they concur with our advance piece on a quiet show that has a reduced profile for books, authors and publishers as “the sideline part of the business will be a main attraction.” Designed to appeal to a portion of the 1,000 or so booksellers who will attend, the AP underscores that sidelines comprise about 20 percent of store sales. The ABA will report annual statistics at the show. They have modest gains, adding a net 52 members to 1,887 in all. Member stores now comprise 2,524 locations, compared to 2,470 in […]
People, Etc.: Remembering Bernstein, and More
Georgia Bodnar has been promoted to editor at Viking. Amy Sun has been promoted to associate editor at Viking. Jeramie Orton has been promoted to associate editor at Pamela Dorman Books. John Glynn has been promoted to senior editor at Hanover Square Press. At Random House Children’s, in the marketing department, Elizabeth Ward has been promoted to director, digital strategy; Alison Folino to executive managing producer; Kristin Schulz to senior marketing manager; Jules Kelly to marketing manager; and Michael Caiati to senior marketing designer. In the art department, Xiomara Nieves and Melanie Bermudez both become senior designer. At Harper Children’s, […]