Service provider CodeMantra has been acquired by a group of Boston-based investors “with plans to support the company’s growth and expansion,” and the company will relocate its headquarters to Boston. The sale follows the death of one of the three co-founders, Suresh R. Chakravarthy (CR), at the end of 2012. Current cfo Vaidyanathan Segaripuram V will move up to ceo, and executive director – publishing services Walter Walker has been named president. Additionally, Ed Marino will join the company as executive chairman. Marino was an early ceo of Lightning Source (which he says is now a $400+ million business) and […]
Finance
James Patterson Writes Checks to 55 Bookstores
James Patterson has followed up on his pledge to donate $1 million to support independent bookstores this year with an initial list of 55 stores that are receiving donations (worth $267,000 so far far). As noted in the announcement, “Some stores have submitted proposals for how the money will be used; others will simply receive an unsolicited check and a note from the author, encouraging them to use the funds to continue doing the good work they already do.” The release indicates “Patterson selected recipient stores by researching which stores are doing the very best work in their communities to […]
People, Etc.
At MacGregor Literary, Holly Lorincz has been promoted to agent. She will focus on representing contemporary and historical romance, political or conspiracy thrillers, women’s fiction, literary fiction, and both literary and classic westerns. Graphic Arts Books announced it recently acquired Companion Press, the Bozeman, MT-based photographic publisher, to expand its Graphic Arts Books and WestWinds Press imprints. Companion Press publisher Jane Freeburg, who founded the company in 1987, will stay on. “The Companion Press list gives us a well-established and respected presence in California as well as representative titles in the Southwest, Northwest, Alaska, and the Rockies.”said Graphic Arts Books publishing […]
Survey Casts Doubt On Amazon’s Ability to Raise Prime Price
UBS issued a rare downgrade on Amazon’s stock, with analyst Eric Sheridan basing part of that call on a recent survey to explore whether the company could charge more for Prime. On Amazon’s recent fourth quarter earnings call, the company said it was considering raising the annual fee by $20 to $40. Sheridan writes: “Our survey results call into question our prior views about the value that a broad set of consumers are applying to the current iteration of Amazon Prime.” He adds, “We were negatively surprised by the results of the survey.” The downgrade and survey weighed on Amazon’s […]
People, Etc.
After more than two years at HarperCollins, where she was executive editor at It Books, Esther Margolis is leaving the company on February 14 and reclaiming the Newmarket Press. She will establish a new publishing and media venture to agent, package and consult on books, publishing, marketing and cross-media strategies, especially in the film and entertainment area. Margolis founded Newmarket Press in 1981 and sold the company and backlist to Harper in 2011. She will assume full rights to the Newmarket Press name and logo after the fall season launch. At Inkwell Literary Management, Allison Hunter and Lauren Smythe have […]
Bookselling: Chapitre Closes 23 of 57 Stores, Eliminates Over 400 Jobs; and More
France’s bankrupt second-largest bookstore chain Chapitre completed its dissolution with the court approved sale of 8 more stores, and the formal closure of the remaining 23 locations they were unable to sell, out of a total of 57 branches. France’s Les Echos says 434 jobs will be eliminated as a result — including 100 jobs at company headquarters — or a third of their workforce. Chapitre’s owner Actissia announced last summer that it intended to sell the chain outright and, if it could not find a buyer, would close all stores by summer 2014. Eleven stores had closed last December, with […]