We’ve already had strong enrollment for the fourth annual Digital Book World Conference and the associated events, and now that the new year is here it’s really just about two weeks away–convening January 16 and 17, at new space in the New York Hilton. As with all of the book trade’s major events, there is always a big wave of sign-ups as the date gets close. This year there are lots of good reasons to put DBW IV on your calendar if you haven’t already. The opening morning keynote sessions alone paint a powerful picture, with the Obama campaign’s digital […]
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Former publisher of Perseus’s Vanguard Press Roger Cooper is launching a publishing consulting firm, Roger Cooper Associates. He will be working with publishers and literary agents with ebook publishing programs to acquire digital content, and with business authors and companies to develop print and digital properties. He can be reached at rcoopernyc@gmail.com. Esther Fleece has joined Yates & Yates as an agent and vp of marketing. Most recently she was a senior leader at Focus on the Family, and in 2012, she was chosen by CNN as among the five women in religion to watch. The Guardian ran their annual feature in which […]
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At Writers House, Stephen Barr has been promoted to senior agent. Brian Jud will take over as executive director of the Small Publishers Association of North America (SPAN) on January 1, following the resignation of Brad Flora. Jud is an author, book-marketing consultant, seminar leader, television host and a partner in Premium Book Company. Rachel Burkot has been named assistant editor for Harlequin Romantic Suspense. Danielle Plafsky will join Knopf as assistant marketing manager on January 2. Previously she was a marketing associate for Harper. Daniel L. Knotts has been named coo of R.R. Donnelley, replacing John R. Paloian, who is retiring after over 25 […]
Pearson Invests $89.5 Million In Nook Media, After Disappointing Holiday
Nook Media–the entity formed in 2012 that owns Barnes & Noble’s Nook business and their college bookstores–has its second major strategic investor, joining Microsoft: As of December 21 Pearson agreed to invest $89.5 in cash for a 5 percent equity stake. The bookseller paired an announcement about that investment with a preview of holiday sales that indicates “results will be below expectations” and Nook in particular will not meet their previous projections for the fiscal year. Perhaps because of that performance, Pearson is buying in to Nook Media at essentially the same the valuation given to the company when Microsoft […]
What to Expect (Or Not)
It’s time for our annual moment of confusion: we would like to stop working entirely until it’s 2013, like a good portion of the publishing world, but the news rarely takes a full vacation (as evidenced by the last few day’s dispatches). So you should expect occasional email service over the next week and a half, as the news–and our deal reports–dictate. Most likely we will only mail Publishers Lunch Deluxe to paid subscribers and corporate clients, while the shorter “free Lunch” rests. PublishersMarketplace.com works 24/7 and our news clips (with RSS and Twitter feeds) will keep track of what’s […]
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As part of an organizational readjustment at Perseus, all three distribution – Consortium, Perseus Distribution and PGW – and their respective leaders Julie Schaper, Sabrina McCarthy and Susan Reich, will now report directly to coo Joe Mangan. In addition, the sales department, headed by Matty Goldberg, will now report directly to cfo Charles Gallagher, as will the supply chain division led by Greg Anastas. Chelsea Green is celebrating their first year as an employee-owned enterprise with a $2,500 cash bonus to employees. President and publisher Margo Baldwin quips, “If Random House can give all their employees a $5000 bonus for 50 Shades […]