Macmillan is putting their controlling 61 percent stake in the publishing solutions and services unit MPS up for sale. The Times of India says the Bangalore-based company employs about 1,000 people, but the company’s site says they have 2,500 employees worldwide. Standalone 2009 sales were approximately $30 million. The Times says “MPS has attracted interests from IT services players as well as financial investors. Macmillan’s divestment could help the company scale up operations winning more third-party businesses.” They say the sector has been active for M&A lately, adding that “there is also speculation that Aptara Solutions may launch a stake […]
Direct publishing
eNews: Open Road Pairs with Bedford Square, and More
Indicated previously as under discussion, the Ed Victor Agency’s new publishing arm Bedford Square Books has formalized a partnership with Open Road, which will digitally publish, market, and distribute Bedford Square titles in North America. At the Publishers Launch Conference in London last week, Ed Victor Agency’s Charlie Campbell indicated that Open Road would serve as publisher on at least some if not all Bedford Square Books (with the Victor entities charging a regular agency commission only) and added that “on those that they don’t want to publish, they may distribute.” At the time, Campbell called Bedford Square “a publishing […]
Still More on Pottermore: Themed Sony Reader Rumors, and Retailers Express Worry
The expected media frenzy after JK Rowling’s Pottermore announcement Thursday came with the usual hyperbole and breathless talk of how selling ebooks direct will “change” publishing (because one can always extrapolate on the future based on the creative approach of one author, especially one as successful as Rowling in terms of marketing to and reaching readers) or that Rowling blazes a trail for self-publishing, never mind that her main publishers Bloomsbury and Scholastic will receive royalties off of each and every direct ebook sale. More interesting and relevant is how Pottermore affects physical and online retailers whose profits once depended […]
Pottermore Launches, Will Sell Ebooks in October
After days of feverish speculation, JK Rowling announced her new interactive and collaborative site Pottermore at a press conference Thursday morning. It’s free for users and features new illustrations and interactive “moments.” And yes, there will be ebooks, which the site will sell exclusively and directly to users, along with audiobook versions of all seven Potter books. The digital editions will be available for a variety of platforms through OverDrive. But even though the ebook and audiobook editions will only be available at Pottermore, her print publishers Bloomsbury and Scholastic are partnering in the venture and will receive unspecified royalties. […]
Adams Media’s Stanley Cup Insta-eBook, and More eNews
This week Adams Media published Newsday sportswriter Alan Hahn’s BRUIN REDEMPTION: THE STANLEY CUP RETURNS TO BOSTON as a $7.99 ebook after a 72-hour turnaround time. The publisher said they had the book “within hours” of the Bruins’ Stanley Cup win on June 15. Powell’s director of strategic planning Darin Sennett talks with Seattle Business Journal about the bookstore’s previously announced mobile app, now set to launch in full by the end of the summer. OverDrive will now supply ebooks to Easons, making the bookstore chain the first OverDrive partner to offer EPUB and PDF eBook content directly to Irish […]
Announcements: New Funding for Osprey, John Locke’s a Kindle Millionaire
Osprey Group announced it has received new funding from London private equity firm Alcuin Capital Partners, providing additional expansion capital to continue Osprey’s strong growth in niche and enthusiast market segments. With the investment, Alcuin acquires a controlling interest in Osprey but the company’s existing majority shareholder Botts Capital Nominees will remain a significant minority shareholder going forward. Self-published thriller phenomenon John Locke is the latest (and eighth) author to sell more than a million Kindle ebooks. Release The British Library has signed a multi-year deal that will allow Google to scan more than 250,000 out-of-copyright works from 1700 to […]