Three of the largest trade publishers–Hachette Book Group, Penguin and Simon & Schuster–have founded and funded an independently-run site launching to connect readers with books and authors, Bookish.com. The unit’s predecessor Obikosh listed itself as having received between $10 million and $20 million in start-up funding. The site intends to build community and information around books and authors from all publishers, and though downplayed in the release, it will also sell ebooks and print books directly–along with referring customers to other retailers. The announcement underscores “Bookish is dedicated to working closely with book retailers, and in the coming weeks will […]
eNews
Random House Acquires Smashing Ideas
Building on a business partnership to develop children’s apps initiated last September, Random House has acquired Seattle-based digital media agency Smashing Ideas in a deal that closed May 2. Terms were not disclosed. The company says it “signals the intention of Random House and its parent company to be leaders in digital content creation, and demonstrates their commitment to expanding revenues from mobile and interactive online products and services.” Smashing Ideas will “continue to operate independently” from Seattle and another office in the UK, “primarily focusing on its current and future client businesses.” With respect to Random House, the unit […]
Barnes & Noble Stock Pops As Company Signals New eReader
Barnes & Noble’s shares rose $1.50 in Wednesday trading, gaining over 14 percent. In an SEC filing, the company said “it expects to make an announcement on May 24 regarding the launch of a new eReader device.” The company reportedly shared the same news during the day in a meeting with analysts, which is likely to have driven the stock’s gains. BN’s choice of date is no accident: the 24th is also BEA’s opening floor day, which means BN clearly intends its e-reader announcement to be the news of the fair.
Amazon Launches Romance Imprint, with More Genre Lines to Come
Amazon is launching another imprint, Montlake Romance (named for a Seattle neighborhood), which will publish “a broad range of frontlist titles in popular romance sub-genres, including romantic suspense and contemporary and historic romance novels, as well as fantasy and paranormal.” The first announced author is two-time RITA winner Connie Brockway, whose THE OTHER GUY’S BRIDE will be published this fall. They say it will “be available to North American readers in Kindle, print and audio formats at www.amazon.com, as well as at national and independent booksellers,” and Amazon tells us her print edition will be published as a trade paperback, […]
Harper US eBook Sales Reach 19 Percent for the Quarter
News Corp. issued third quarter earnings and as has become the new standard, the words “book” and “HarperCollins” do not merit an appearance anywhere in the 13-page statement. The company’s publishing division overall was a mess–operating income fell $82 million thanks to The Daily and advertising declines in the UK and Australian newspapers, and a marketing services litigation settlement cost another $125 million. By their own reckoning, HarperCollins says they “had a solid quarter. In the US, eBooks comprised 19 percent of sales in the US, and 11 percent of worldwide revenues. The company says “we expect to see those […]
Lagardere Sales Slide As US eBooks Hit 22%, Plus UK Digital Stats and Asian Device Updates
Today’s stories offer digital statistics and hints from all over. Lagardere issued a brief first quarter trading update. Publishing revenues were 390 million euros, down 9.8 percent on an absolute basis, and down 10.4 percent from a year ago on a like-for-like basis. Once again, they attribute the drop to Stephenie Meyer’s declining sales. (The same period a year ago “notably” included Meyer rights sales as well.) eBooks comprised approximately 22 percent of sales in the US in the quarter through the end of March, and grew to 5 percent of sales in the UK. For the full year, they […]