Library Journal updates the state of negotiations on new models for selling ebooks to libraries. While some librarians have apparently convinced themselves that Hachette Book Group has a plan to start selling them frontlist ebooks again, Hachette executives make it clear their internal debate is still underway. SVP for Hachette Digital Maja Thomas has been meeting with the relevant parties, but the HBG team has not made any decisions. “It’s an extremely sensitive issue and there is a lot of passion on both sides, and we’ve been working diligently here for months on it,” she says. “I will present [her […]
eNews
Another Digital Imprint, This Time In Australia
First Pan Macmillan announced a digital imprint for the UK focused on backlist books, Compass, and now Pan Macmillan Australia has announced their own digital imprint, Momentum, launching in February 2012. Pan Macmillan director Tom Gilliatt will run moment, with publisher Joel Naoum “managing” the list. They will both bring back to market out-of-print titles as well publish “new works from established and emerging authors.” And, as we have been exploring via our Publishers Launch Conferences, the line intends to “embrace the international potential of the digital market by making its ebooks available globally.” The launch list includes four traditional […]
S&S Will Handle Print Sales & Distribution For John Locke
Self-published thriller writer John Locke, who sold more than a million copies of his Donovan Creed novels primarily via Amazon (helped in part by the 99 cent ebook price of each series title) has found a large publisher to back him on the print side. Starting in February 2012, Simon & Schuster will handle sales and distribution for the print editions of Locke’s books under the banner of John Locke Books. The deal will allow Locke’s novels – the eight books already released, as well as newer titles to come — to be more widely available in brick-and-mortar stores (including […]
RR Donnelley To Acquire LibreDigital
RR Donnelley announced today that it has acquired digital content distribution and e-service provider LibreDigital for an undisclosed sum. President and ceo Thomas Quinlan said in a statement that buying LibreDigital will “extend RR Donnelley’s reach across the breadth of the supply chain.” This is the second company Donnelley has purchased this week, having also bought Sequence Personal, a provider of proprietary software that enables readers to select relevant content to be digitally produced as specialized publications. Earlier this summer Donnelley also acquired online writer services company Helium and Journalism Online. “With this acquisition we uniquely position RR Donnelley to […]
Self-Help Bestseller Tim Ferriss Sells New Book To Kirshbaum’s Amazon Imprint
Some days the biggest news happens in the deals section, and today is no exception with Amazon’s announcement that the still-untitled imprint headed by Larry Kirshbaum made its first buy, acquiring Timothy Ferriss’ latest self-help opus, THE FOUR-HOUR CHEF, for publication next year. (Our deals database has more information on the terms.) Previously Ferriss was published by Crown, and both of his earlier books, THE FOUR-HOUR WORKWEEK and THE FOUR-HOUR BODY, have been on the NYT bestseller lists for 84 and 33 weeks, respectively. Amazon’s release ceded most of the “future of publishing” rhetoric to Ferriss, who was quoted as […]
Class Action Lawsuits Against Apple and Agency Publishers Proliferate
When the Seattle law firm Hagens Berman filed suit against Apple and publishers Hachette, Macmillan, HarperCollins, Penguin, and Simon & Schuster last week, they specifically sought media coverage–and got it. Without press releases, what was missed was that four additional suits, all seeking to be part of a larger class action, were filed in federal courts in New York and California between August 10 and August 12. Across the various suits, Random House, Amazon and Barnes & Noble all get added to the legal feasting as well. As you may surmise, each of these suits works off the same logic […]