HBG USA ceo Michael Pietsch wrote to staff with new year’s greetings instead of a holiday year-end letter, noting highlights of 2016–led by the acquisition of the Perseus Books imprints, which bolstered their “primary strategic goal” of growing the company. Without the Perseus titles, core HBG sales “decreased somewhat from 2015, primarily from declines in ebook and paperback sales and the transition of Yen Press to a joint venture.” But Pietsch says that core profits grew “by around 25 percent,” due in part to “care with costs,” with Perseus adding to both sales and profits. Looking ahead, he promises “we will soon […]
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CEO Holiday Greetings, from Simon & Schuster
In keeping with tradition, publishing ceos are thanking employees and celebrating the year’s accomplishments through year-end letters. The first publicly released letter is from Simon & Schuster chief executive Carolyn Reidy, noting “a tumultuous year in both the United States and around the world” while still observing that “it feels as if we are in a period of relative stability in the publishing marketplace.” Reidy confirms that their deal to acquire Adams Media closed “shortly before Thanksgiving” as scheduled and notes the new division will be integrated into company infrastructure and systems by January 31. In a review of the house’s top titles she leads with […]
BISG Looks Ahead to Restart
The Book Industry Study Group convened their annual members meeting in New York — and marked their 40th anniversary — after an admittedly “tough year” with enthusiastic anticipation for incoming executive director Brian O’Leary and a new strategic plan to execute. Treasurer and new board chair Maureen McMahon of Kaplan presented the budget and revealed some of the challenges the organization has faced, with a change to accrual accounting and problems with their membership database management leading to a significant net loss of roughly $240,000 (on expenditures of $1.304 million) in the previous fiscal year, now rebalanced in the unaudited […]
Briefs: Pocket Constitution Sales Rise After Khan Speech; A Local Line for S&S India; and More
Khizr Khan’s speech at the Democratic National Convention has boosted distribution of the US Constitution. A $1 Pocket Constitution published by The National Center for Constitutional Studies — similar to the one Khan displayed during his speech, but not the same edition — moved 45,000 copies on Amazon between Saturday morning and Monday night, spokesperson Dan Sheridan told the WSJ. After announcing they would give free copies of their pocket Constitution until Election Day, the American Civil Liberties Union says it has received approximately 80,000 orders. Little Brown celebrated the recent launch of James Patterson’s BookShots with a press release declaring he “has ignited a […]
Oprah Picks Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad
Oprah’s latest Book Club pick, her first in approximately 18 months, is Colson Whitehead’s new novel The Underground Railroad. Originally scheduled for release on September 13, Doubleday has pushed up publication and the book, emblazoned with the Oprah Book Club logo, is on sale today. (The most recent Oprah pick was Cynthia Bond’s Ruby, in February 2015.) In a short video, Oprah begins, “Oh, have I found a great book!” while describing why she chose The Underground Railroad. There is a special page devoted to the pick on Amazon, where Winfrey adds: “This book has kept me up at night, had my heart […]
Briefs: Johnson’s Book on Shakespeare Delayed or Cancelled, and More
Newly appointed UK foreign secretary and Brexit campaign leader Boris Johnson‘s forthcoming book on Shakespeare, scheduled for release on November 15 from Hodder & Stoughton and Riverhead, will not be published this year, and may not be published at all according to the Daily Mail. They report Johnson “is believed to be having to pay back a £500,000 advance” to Hodder & Stoughton having “conceded he doesn’t have the time” to write the book. A spokesperson for Riverhead put it differently, writing: “In light of his new responsibilities in the UK, Boris Johnson will be unable to complete his book […]