In a follow-up piece on the plans of Bhodi Tree Bookstore owners Stan Madson and Phil Thompson once they complete the sale of the building that houses the store, the LA Times says that “they are searching for someone to buy the Bodhi Tree inventory and name and continue the store in a different location.” Madson says sales are about $2 million a year (down from a high of $5 million a year in the 90s), declining about 15 percent a year in each of the last two years.LAT
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Awards: Borders Original Voices
The bookseller announced the winners of their annual awards yesterday, which include a cash prize and chainwide promotion: FictionThe Calligrapher’s Daughter, Eugenia Kim NonfictionShop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work, Matthew Crawford Children’s/YAAfter, by Amy EfawRelease
Notes
At Penguin Classics, John Siciliano has been promoted to senior editor. The announced one-million-copy first printing for Cornelia Funke’s fall release RECKLESS is a worldwide number covering projections for all of the initial laydown markets.
Memorial Service for Karen Hansgen
Associate publisher of Skira Rizzoli Publications Karen Hansgen died on Sunday, January 10. Her family has just announced a memorial service for her tomorrow, on Friday, January 15 at 2:00 PM at: Brooklyn Friends Meeting House110 Schermerhorn StreetBrooklyn, New York 11201(718) 788-5990
People, and A New Funke
Laney Katz Becker has joined the Markson Thoma Literary Agency as an agent. She was previously at Folio Literary Management. Former publisher of Harcourt Children’s Lori Benton has joined educational children’s publisher Capstone as general manager/publisher of their fiction imprints, which include Stone Arch Books and Picture Window Books.Cornelia Funke‘s next book RECKLESS (and the first in a new series) will have an international laydown on September 14. Little, Brown Children’s says they will print a million copies for the US market, joined on publication date with releases from Chicken House in the UK and Dressler in Germany. The book […]
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Financial House of Cards Reported Ready to Fall
Two debt restructurings last year still left Houghton Mifflin Harcourt parent company Education and Media Publishing Group (EMPG) straining to sustain their debt obligations and covenants, and reports from Ireland indicate yet another restructuring is in the works that would wipe out equity-holders entirely and turn the company over to its secured lenders. Investors losing out would include the financial genius behind the $9 billion worth of acquisitions, Barry O’Callaghan, whose interest was reduced to about 20 percent of the company last August. (He also made himself ceo of HMH last year when Tony Lucki wisely retired.) But it also […]