Yesterday’s Lunch dispatch misstated the nature of The Paris Review’s excerpting of Roberto Bolano’s novel THE THIRD REICH, which FSG will publish near the end of the year. The magazine is, in fact, serializing the book over four consecutive issues, with the final installment to be released in the first week of December. This is the first time in forty years that The Paris Review has serialized a novel. Editor Lorin Stein tells us the full novel will be published by FSG in mid-December, but the publisher’s fall catalog currently lists a November publication date, and director of publicity Jeff […]
eNews
Hocking to Make the List: Three Times
When USA Today told us in our Monday report that they were “keeping a very close eye on the rapidly developing e-book marketplace” and “actively discussing how [their] list ought to evolve to reflect changes in publishing,” they really meant it. In advance of tomorrow’s new bestseller list for the week ending February 6, the paper writes today that self-epublished sensation Amanda Hocking will have three of her YA paranormals appear on the list for the first time–all among the top 50 titles. This comes as the NYT ebooks bestseller list debuts for the public with an exclusion for self-published […]
Sales Grow But Indigo Profits Still Drop in Third Quarter
Third-quarter performance at Canada’s retailing giant Indigo looks reminiscent of Barnes & Noble’s trajectory, with ebooks, ereaders and online sales helping to lift sales while also weighing on expenses. Indigo’s revenues rose 14 percent to $387.6 million (CA), beating projections, but net profit of $30.2 million (or C$1.19 a share) was $4 million lower than a year ago, which was less than analysts expected. Superstore comps increased 2.6 per cent while smaller-store comps dropped 0.8 percent from last year’s levels, and the company’s online division was up 6.5 percent from a year ago. As with the previous quarter, digital investments […]
Briefs: National Festival Expands, Bristol Palin Writes, Kindle Gets Page Numbers, and More
The National Book Festival, held annually on Washington, DC’s National Mall, will expand to a two-day event this year, convening September 24 and 25. The Library of Congress says “the added day will let us plan for at least 90 authors over the entire weekend.” The media found a preliminary metadata posting on Amazon for a memoir by Bristol Palin, set for publication by William Morrow on June 21. It was listed as a $25 hardcover. Amazon removed the listing, but the cached version is still viewable (for now). In separate Amazon-related news, the famously customer-centric is finally giving in […]
The New York Times Unveils Their E-Book Bestseller Lists
The NYT’s first-ever e-book bestseller lists will appear in print on February 13 and online on February 11 (reflecting rankings for the week ending January 30), as the paper previewed for publishing people at an event this morning. Not only will the paper publish a separate e-book list, but there will also be a hybrid print and e-book bestseller list. A spokesperson said the paper “wanted to provide more comprehensive lists of which books are selling.” Unlike USA Today’s approach, the hybrid lists give no indication of whether e-books outsell print editions; a note on their methodology says only that […]
Today’s Theme: Glimmers and Hints, Mostly Revealing Nothing (On Borders, Apple, Harper)
It’s happening all over. Yesterday News Corp. reported quarterly results, saying nothing about Harper Collins except that operating income declined from $68 million a year ago (see story below). Borders spokesperson Mary Davis tells the Cleveland Plain-Dealer nothing: “Borders understands the media interest in its situation but will not comment on theoretical, suggested or rumored outcomes to this process. Once the terms of any arrangements are finalized, Borders will make an appropriate announcement.” In case you were unclear, “Our goal is to have a strong Borders for the long term.” CPD Agree Realty, which has leases for 14 Borders locations, […]