Young adult book publisher Jolly Fish Press announced abruptly on their web site that the publisher will close at the end of October, unless “another option will present itself to us in lieu of closing.” The publisher says that it “failed to secure the funds necessary to grow and move the company forward” after “a long process of seeking investors who believe in our company and what we aim to achieve.” Therefore, “We have approached the point where we can no longer sustain our business.” Authors and agents were upset both by the closing and by the lack of any advance notice […]
Finance
Book Sales Continue Modest Decline at WH Smith, As Profits Improve
UK-based WH Smith reported annual results through August 31, declaring what passes for “another good performance” at their High Street stores — which means trading profit there grow £3 million to £62 million, even as sales continued to ebb. Total sales in the division fell 3 percent and same-store sales declined 2 percent, even with the launch of the Zoella Book Club and the popularity of “color therapy” books, which “were a key driver of sales.” But book sales still feel 2 percent on a same-store-basis, with stationery sales rising and a growing initiative to install actual Post Offices inside the stores. They note that “kids book sales […]
People, Etc.
Vicki Jaeger has joined Portable Press — part of ReaderLink’s Printers Row Publishing Group — as developmental editor. She was marketing manager at Mattel Consumer Products, and most recently a licensing consultant for entertainment and consumer products companies. At Donaghy Literary Group Valerie Noble has been promoted to senior agent. Amanda Ayers Barnett has joined the company as an agent (she has been a freelance book editor for New York Book Editors), and Alex Franks has joined as a junior agent. The Authors Guild announced that, for the first time since its founding in 1912, it is inviting “emerging writers” who have not yet published a book to join the […]
Redstones Tell CBS and Viacom to Consider Merging
The Redstone family’s privately-held National Amusements, which controls nearly 80 percent of the voting shares in both CBS and Viacom, sent a letter Thursday morning to the boards of the two entertainment companies telling them “to consider a potential combination of the companies.” First reported as forthcoming by Reuters on Wednesday afternoon, shares of both companies jumped on the news, with CBS closing the day up 4 percent, and Viacom rising 2.7 percent. (CBS was up again in early Thursday trading; this is contrary to the initial Wall Street wisdom that had a merger adding more value to the beaten down Viacom.) CBS […]
Donnelly to Split On October 1
RR Donnelley’s board formally approved the final conditions of their imminent split into three separately-traded public companies. On October 1, current Donnelley shareholders (as of the record date of September 23) will receive one share of the new LSC Communications and one share of the new Donnelley Financial for every eight shares of RR Donnelley common stock held. LSC is the company that people in the book publishing industry will continue to do business with, providing the traditional print, fulfillment and supply chain services for publishers, merchandisers and retailers, and legacy Donnelly will focus on multichannel marketing communication strategies. The units comprising […]
Barnes Away
The financial weekly Barron’s has had a soft spot for Barnes & Noble’s stock for years, but unfortunately they have been pretty consistently — and significantly — wrong. Publishers are cranky about the company’s underperformance in the marketplace, as sales keep ebbing even as print book sales rise, and with the abrupt departure of ceo Ronald Boire many people are expecting yet another disappointing set of results when the company reports fiscal first quarter earnings on Thursday morning. Lightly followed by analysts, the consensus expectations for the quarter still estimate sales of $958 million (down about $20.5 million from a year ago), […]