At Doubleday, Margo Shickmanter has been promoted to editor. Tara Feehan will join Harper Children’s as vp, finance and administration, moving over from the operations & technology finance team, and reporting to Suzanne Murphy. Feehan succeeds Randy Rosema who will retire in January. Shari Black has joined Harper Christian as senior director of marketing for the specialty publishing division. She previously worked in account sales and marketing for Warner Bros. Entertainment, The Walt Disney Company, and Walmart. At Workman Publishing, Constance Edmonds has been promoted to promotion coordinator across all imprints. Ashley McPhee joins as promotion coordinator for the Workman imprint. She was previous a […]
Legal
Briefs: Wiley Audiobooks, Gucci Books, Another BN Legal Conference, and More
Audio RBmedia has an agreement with Wiley to publish audiobook versions of more than 650 of the book publisher’s titles over the next three years, starting in January. The deal “allows for publication of all frontlist titles, with a primary focus on business, finance and the well-known Dummies brand, as well as select titles from tech and other key subject areas,” and it includes “select backlist titles” as well. They note that “a significant percentage of audiobooks [will] be narrated by Wiley authors, including global thought leaders, educators, and practitioners.” Bookselling Soho’s latest bookselling space is “gucci.” As in the […]
Parneros v. Barnes & Noble Inches Forward
Judge John G. Koetl convened a pre-trial conference in the high-profile Parneros v. Barnes & Noble case Tuesday afternoon, which he kicked off by asking counsel to describe the case. Parneros’ attorney Anne Clark of Vladeck, Raskin & Clark rehashed the details of the original complaint before raising the possibility of a motion to dismiss Barnes & Noble’s counterclaims, saying they didn’t meet the court’s standards — and reiterated that the countersuit, along with the company’s press release when Parneros was fired, had made him unhirable according to headhunters. The judge was wary of dismissal, offering that “the existence of […]
Barnes & Noble Says Parneros “Made Shocking and Derogatory Comments” That Wrecked Company Sale
Barnes & Noble filed its response to former ceo Demos Parneros’s suit alleging breach of contract and defamation on Tuesday, denying Parneros’s allegations and countersuing “to recover…the substantial damages flowing from Parneros’s breach of his fiduciary duties,” claiming that he intentionally “sabotage[d]” a deal to sell the company. In the filing B&N admits there was a sale in progress, as Parneros asserted in his suit, but they also say his statements about that deal comprise “a breach of [his] confidentiality obligations.” By the company’s account, the potential acquirer first approached chairman Len Riggio in late January with interest and made […]
Medallion Press Files for Liquidation
Earlier this month Medallion Press filed papers in a Northern Illinois Bankruptcy Court for a voluntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation. The filing says “the company is presently experiencing financial difficulties due, in part, to the difficulties facing the publishing industry.” The publisher’s principal asset is $254,000 in inventory in the warehouse of their distributor Ingram Publisher Services (Medallion had been a Legato/Perseus client), along with $67,000 in cash. The liquidated inventory and cash need to cover an estimated $111,000 in unsecured claims. Filing
Parneros v. B&N Expects October 2019 Trial
Barnes & Noble filed a letter with District Court Judge John Koeltl on October 24 regarding the defamation and breach of contract suit filed by former ceo Demos Parneros, outlining a schedule that kicks off initial discovery on November 29, 2018. They intend to finish regular discovery on June 14, 2019, “because the parties anticipate that there will be significant non-party discovery, including discovery from entities and individuals referenced in the Complaint.” The letter states that both parties will be “ready for a non-jury trial on or after October 23, 2019,” with an estimated trial time of five to seven […]