November ebook sales among the 12 publishers reporting to the AAP rose again, to $46.6 million, a $5.9 million gain over October, comprising $392 million for the monitored 11 months in 2010. eBooks accounted for 9.3 percent of all trade sales for the month (when you use proper math). That’s substantially higher than in October–mostly because net trade print sales were far lower in November ($452 million, versus $528 million in October). It is the highest single month of ebook sales so far in the AAP’s monitoring.
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Arizona Tragedy Boosts Demand for Book of 9/11 Babies
The death of nine-year-old Christina Taylor Green in the Arizona shootings has brought national attention to a previously-overlooked 2002 book from HCI, FACES OF HOPE. The title presents pictures of 50 babies born on 9/11/2001, one from each state, along with messages of hope for their future, with Green’s baby picture representing Arizona. For anyone who missed the first wave of attention for the book, President Obama cited it again in last night’s nationally-televised speech: “As has already been mentioned, Christina was given to us on September 11th, 2001, one of 50 babies born that day to be pictured in […]
People, Announcements, Etc.
Kate Hamill is leaving her position as editor at It Books/HarperCollins, where she acquired the #1 NYT bestseller SH*T MY DAD SAYS, to join the business development team of the social publishing and reading site Scribd. Her last day is tomorrow. Going forward, she can be reached at kate@scribd.com. Joe Gores, a three-time Edgar Award winner and most recently, the author of SPADE AND ARCHER, the authorized prequel to THE MALTESE FALCON, died Monday. He was 79 and had been in poor health in recent years. A memorial mass will be held on Friday January 21 at 11:30 a.m. at […]
Service for Barron Announced
The memorial service for Manie Barron has been announced: St. Bartholomew’s Church 325 Park Avenue (betw. 50th and 51st) Saturday, February 5, 2011 11:00 a.m. with reception to follow He died of a hemorrhage the morning on January 8, while undergoing treatment for lung cancer. Barron began his nearly three-decade career in publishing as a bookseller at the Doubleday bookstore at South Street Seaport in Manhattan. He became a buyer for Golden Lee book distributors, from where he was recruited as a founding member of the Random House telephone sales team. He transitioned from sales to editorial, laying the foundation […]
People, Etc.
Marjorie Braman is leaving Henry Holt, where she has been vp and editor-in-chief since September 2008. Prior to that she was executive editor at HarperCollins for 12 years. She is leaving on to concentrate on freelance editorial projects, and her last day is January 31. Holt will name a new editor-in-chief at a later date.Christine Pride has joined Hyperion as senior editor. Previously she was an editor with the Crown Publishing Group. At Norton, Brendan Curry and Tom Mayer have been promoted to senior editors. Christina Ward of the Christina Ward Literary Agency and Richard Balkin of The Balkin Agency […]
Bookstore Closings: Syracuse Borders Joins Unconfirmed Others, As Portsmouth, NH’s Gulliver’s Announces Closing, Too
Add to the list of upcoming Borders’ closing their outlet in Syracuse’s big Carousel Center mall. A supervisor there tells the local paper they will close some time in March, citing only “a lease situation.” It is the only bookstore in the big shopping center. That closing comes on top of the 14 Borders that closed last week, and another approximately 17 stores that publishers have been told will close by the end of January (though the company has so far declined to confirm that number, even though publishers have been provided a list of stores and expected closing dates). […]