News

After editorial layoffs forced USA Today’s Best-selling Booklist to go on hiatus in December 2022, the list relaunched today. Like the old list, the new list will consist of 150 titles in all genres, including self-published books, and combine print and digital sales numbers. Previously, compiling the list was a manual process, but now is automated. A release explains that the list is “based exclusively on sales analysis from U.S. booksellers including bookstore chains, independent bookstores, mass merchandisers and online retailers.” “The relaunch is an automated effort that still uses the same algorithm we already had in place but now […]

A small investment company, Enduring Ventures, says it signed a letter of intent to acquire the assets of Scribe Media, pending financing (“we still need approval from the SBA/Bank and support from authors and shareholders for this to work”) and other diligence. Enduring Ventures co-founder Sieva Kozinsky wrote in a lengthy LinkedIn post that he will become interim CEO of the newly created business, which is designed to “continue serving Scribe’s existing customers.” In the same post, created in the Scribe Media account, he notes that the company laid off 10 more people from the skeleton staff (87 people were […]

Bookforum, the quarterly publication of book reviews that shut down last December, will relaunch in August under the umbrella of The Nation magazine. The Nation acquired its archives and intellectual property in June and plans to revive it, with editorial operations remaining separate, and the editorial staff that was in place at the time of closure, led by editor in chief Michael Miller. Miller tells the New York Times, “They know how to run magazines.” Bookforum was shuttered when PMC Media acquired the magazine’s parent, Artforum International Magazine. Bhaskar Sunkara, president of The Nation, says in a release, “Bookforum has […]

Scribe Media’s chief experience officer Meghan McCracken has resigned, writing in a LinkedIn post, “My work there is done.” The company officially ceased operations in May, due to an Article 9 sale, but planned to continue until its assets were transferred to new ownership. The 87 laid off employees received no severance and some freelancers remain unpaid. McCracken writes, “Feeling a lot right now, but mostly feeling so much for our authors, freelancers, and all our current and laid off Crew. My sole driving motivation these past three weeks was taking care of all of them. I had a lot […]

Harper Collins is closing some of its current offices, with plans to not renew leases in San Francisco and Grand Rapids. In these two locations, as well as Boston, the company is “evaluating the business needs for flexible space as needed.” The company’s Montage space in Scranton/Moosic, PA will be relocated to a different building. CEO Brian Murray writes in a memo to staff: “While we still believe in the importance of in-office collaboration, especially in a creative industry like ours, we recognize the necessity of streamlining our office footprint so that we can continue to invest in the business.”  […]