Margaret Mahy, 76, author of more than 120 books for children and winner of numerous awards, including the Carnegie Medal and the Hans Christian Andersen Award, died Monday in Christchurch, NZ after a brief illness. NZ Herald obit Left-wing journalist, editor of Counterpunch and author Alexander Cockburn, 71, died Saturday in Bad Salzhausen, Germany after a two year battle with cancer. NYT obit At Penguin Children’s UK, Eric Huang has been promoted to new business and IP acquisitions director, reporting to Francesca Dow. Paul Biba has resigned from TeleRead after more than five years as contributor and then editor of […]
eNews
Three Authors File Class Action Suit Against Harlequin On Deprivation of Digital Royalties
Three romance writers filed suit in New York’s southern district court Thursday morning against Harlequin alleging the publisher deprived them of ebook royalties rightfully owed to them for works published between 1990 and 2004 by funneling contracts through a Switzerland-based subsidiary, from which the ebooks needed to be “licensed.” Agents and authors have long whispered–or even posted on blogs–about Harlequin’s historical practice of ebook accounting, and now this suit seeks class-action status with the potential to become a blockbuster action by authors against the leading romance publisher. The plaintiffs are reaching out to any authors who signed contracts with Harlequin for […]
Osprey Acquires Duncan Baird and Watkins Publishing; DreamWorks Said to Bid for Classic Media
Osprey Group has acquired Duncan Baird Publishers, which focuses on illustrated books in the fields of food, health and well-being, mind, body and spirit, culture, religion and faith, including its Watkins Publishing unit (which Duncan Baird originally bought in 2004.) Duncan Baird’s total sales in 2011 were £5.5m while Osprey Group’s sales were £7m. “We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Duncan Baird and Watkins into the group,” Osprey Group ceo Rebecca Smart said in a statement. “Duncan has created a really strong business in the growing lifestyle and transformation publishing areas and has also worked on strengthening the Watkins name. We plan […]
2011 Trade Sales Fell Slightly In New BookStats Figures, As eBooks Near $2 Billion and Comprise 31 Percent of Adult Fiction
The annual BookStats statistical survey–a joint project between the AAP and the BISG–released a small set of “headline” data on Wednesday, in advance of fuller publication of data to subscribers next week. According to their extrapolations, the overall US publishing business inclusive of all sectors (trade, educational, professional, scholarly, etc.) accounted for $27.2 billion in sales, down roughly 2.5 percent from $27.94 billion in 2010, though unit sales grew by 3.4 percent. For the trade, where we focus our reporting and analysis, they estimate sales of $12.517 billion for 2011, down slightly from estimated sales of $12.59 billion in 2010. […]
eNews: Nook Finally Comes to the Web; Selectric Artists Launches eBook Imprint for Clients; And More
Barnes & Noble finally introduced its own free digital reading experience for browsers, NOOK for Web, for PC and Mac. Complimentary titles available for those who try the new offering through July 26 include Map of Bones by James Rollins, Sex and the City by Candace Bushnell, The Vow by Kim Carpenter, The Boxcar Children Summer Special by Gertrude Chandler Warner, Brave by Tennant Redbank and Perfect Island Getaways by Patricia Schultz. Christopher Schelling at Selectric Artists has launched a new ebook imprint, Roadswell Editions, for backlist and frontlist titles by clients. The launch title is Kathe Koja’s 1991 horror […]
People, Etc.: Marion Cunningham Dies
Marion Cunningham, 90, author of cookbooks such as LEARNING TO COOK and THE FANNIE FARMER COOKBOOK, died Wednesday in an assisted-care home in Walnut Creek, CA from complications of Alzheimer’s Disease. Her longtime editor at Knopf Judith Jones said in a statement that Cunningham “epitomized good American food…She was someone who had an ability to take a dish, savor it in her mouth, and give it new life. At a time when Americans were embracing all kinds of foreign cuisine, Marion Cunningham’s love and respect for American food helped The Fannie Farmer Cookbook once again earn a place in kitchens […]