The Headline Publishing Group has announced their new executive line-up following the departure of two key executives, but also indicated a strong shift away from nonfiction (following a tough year for such books in the UK) and unspecified job reductions as a result. Jamie Hodder-Williams officially takes over as chief executive of Hodder & Stoughton and Headline, reporting to Tim Hely Hutchinson and replacing the retiring Martin Neild. Current joint deputy managing director Jane Morpeth has been promoted to managing director of the Headline group, and she joins the board of Hachette UK. Fiction publishing director Marion Donaldson moves up […]
International News
Bookselling: Palin Sales Said to be 700k In Opening Week; Hudson Picks The Help As Best of the Year; Germany's Thalia Buys Out
A “publishing official close to” Sarah Palin says that GOING ROGUE sold 700,000 copies in its first week on sale. Earlier, Harper had confirmed another leak that the book sold 300,000 copies the first day alone. Last Friday, the publisher announced a new printing would bring the copies in print to 2.5 million units.AP Hudson Booksellers picked Kathryn Stockett’s THE HELP as their best book of 2009. The chain operates 65 full-service bookstores and 350 bookstore/newsstands in airports and other terminals, with 2009 book sales of $93 million. The rest of their Best Fiction list includes: The Year of the […]
With No Buyer Yet, Concern Over the Fate of Borders UK
Concerns about the fate of Borders UK rose over the past few days, as the Times declared Sunday the struggling chain is “on the verge of collapse” after a potential deal with WH Smith fell apart (first reported by Retail Week, and linked here on Friday.) RW had reported that “an alternative buyer of Borders UK is being sought and the retailer is understood to have received several expressions of interest.” Asked for comment by the Guardian, WH Smith “refused to confirm reports that it had pulled out of the deal,” but they too warned the company “appeared to be […]
People: Miner to Crown, and More
Sydny Miner is moving to Crown Publishers as executive editor, starting December 14 and reporting to publisher Tina Constable. She will acquire practical advice, how-to, health, and fitness books, as well as memoirs. Miner was a senior editor at Simon & Schuster, where she worked for 26 years. Brandon Proia joins Mary Anne Thompson Associates as a scout on November 30. He has been an associate editor at Basic. Separately, the company has been appointed US book scout for Ediouro/Agir/Nova Fronteria effective immediately. In the UK, Kate Shaw is leaving Aitken Alexander Associates after nine years to join The Viney […]
More Financial News: Bigger than Expected Loss at Hastings; Santillana Deal May Fall Through
In other financial news, sales at Hastings fell 1.7 percent in the third quarter, at $112.3 million, with the company showing a net loss of $3.4 million–at -36 cents a share that was well below what the company’s single analyst was forecasting, and $0.7 million worse than Hasting’s own internal forecast. As a result, they formally reduced their guidance on full-year earnings by five cents a share. According to the company’s category breakouts, book sales comps were just above flat at 0.2 percent for the quarter (also up 1 percent for the year), but publishers probably don’t benefit from the […]
Swede Offers "A Mountain of Dirty Laundry" In Rare Tell-All About Ikea
Former Ikea executive Johan Stenebo (who also spent time as personal assistant to company founder Ingvar Kamprad) is among the first to challenge the furniture-retailer’s glossy public image from the inside. Spiegel Online says the tell-all book “has attracted much attention in Sweden. It is the first time in the more than 60-year history of Ikea that negative comments have been made by a senior staff member in public. It’s clear that the book is some sort of payback: a mountain of dirty laundry divided into 14 chapters.” They add “the book claims that common preconceptions about Ikea and Kamprad […]