Dawn Davis, founder and publisher of 37 Ink, is leaving Simon & Schuster to become editor in chief of Bon Appetit magazine. She succeeds Adam Rappaport, who resigned in June after photos surfaced of him in an offensive Halloween costume in 2004. Canadian independent publishers ECW Press and Annick Press will begin a partnership in January, in which majority ownership of Annick Press will transition over five years from publisher Rick Wilks to ECW co-publisher David Caron. The companies will “remain separate entities, with staff, brands, finances, and editorial mandates unchanged, but will embark on a new collaboration between the […]
Earnings Reports
Barnes & Noble Education Is Finished Considering A Sale
After a lengthy investigation that started last December following “a number of unsolicited inquiries,” the Barnes & Noble Education board has once again found that it is doing a terrific job and has formally ended any consideration of a sale. “An exhaustive strategic review was undertaken and completed,” the release says. Fortunately, “At the same time, the company also made significant progress towards implementing and executing its digital transformation strategy, which further enhanced the company’s importance and relevance to its customers, particularly given the post-COVID-19 shift to remote learning.” Independent director Vice Admiral John R. Ryan says in the announcement, […]
Indigo Sales Fell 30 Percent
Indigo reported earnings for the first quarter ending June 27 earlier in August, with sales of CA$135 million, down $57.5 million from $193 million last year, a 30 percent decline. Net loss was $(31.6) million, compared to $(19.1) million in last year’s quarter, during a period heavily affected by pandemic-related store closures. Indigo reopened their stores starting May 19 and had all but one of their stores open again by the end of the quarter, though with reduced hours and social distancing within stores. (As previously announced, they did close 15 small-format stores at the end of June rather than […]
People, Etc.
Bridget Monroe Itkin has been promoted to senior editor at Artisan Books. Wah-Ming Chang has been promoted to vice president of company culture and senior managing editor, books at Catapult/Counterpoint/Soft Skull. In the UK, Lucy Hale has been hired for the new role of publisher for Pan, reporting to Jeremy Trevathan. She had been deputy ceo of Hodder & Stoughton, Headline, Quercus and John Murray until last October, when her position was eliminated. Before working for Hachette UK, Hale had been at Pan Macmillan as UK sales director and international sales director. Audio New publisher Levine Querido has an exclusive […]
China Literature Says “Lack of Resilience” Led to Big Operating Loss
Online literature and entertainment platform China Literature announced results for the six months ended June 30, with sales of RMB3.26 billion ($460.5 million), up from RMB2.97 billion in the first six months of 2019. Most significantly, however, the company recorded a major operating loss of RMB3.56 billion ($502.2 million), compared to earnings of RMB527.7 million last year — mostly due to the devastating impact of the pandemic on film and TV production and consumption. Company ceo Cheng Wu said, “The sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and a complex and changing macro-environment had a negative impact on our business. The […]
Storytel Continues Strong Growth in Second Quarter
Swedish ebook and audio streaming platform Storytel reported earnings for the second quarter ending June 30, with net sales of SEK554 million ($63.4 million), up from SEK402 million in Q2 2019. EBITDA was a loss of SEK(37.8) million, improved from a loss of SEK(78.6) million last year’s quarter. The average number of paying subscribers was 1,257,000, up from 887,500 last year, or 42 percent. Streaming revenue was SEK459.1 million, up from SEK 320.1 million, or 43 percent, with the company forecasting 32 percent growth for the year as a whole. Print revenue — from Storytel-owned publishing houses Norstedts, People’s Press […]