Bloomsbury and PFD have joined forces to republish more than 500 out-of-print titles digitally beginning in September. The Bloomsbury Reader, as the venture is called, will bring back books into print from political diarist Alan Clark, Booker Prize winner Bernice Rubens, and poet & critic Edith Sitwell. Bloomsbury and PFD told the Guardian they hope other literary agencies will make use of the new service as well. 57 remaining Whitcoulls stores and five Borders shops were sold to Farmers Department Store owners the Norman family by administrator Ferrier Hodgson for an undisclosed sum. Owner David Norman told BusinessDay the company […]
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Michael Barber has joined Pearson in the newly created position of chief executive adviser, reporting to Marjorie Scardino. Barber is currently a partner at McKinsey & Company and head of its global education practice. John Bond is leaving HarperCollins UK at the end of June by “mutual agreement.” Bond was managing director of Press Books, which will now be run by ceo Victoria Barnsley, assisted by special projects director Katie Fulford, until a replacement is found. Thomas Nelson Gift & Children’s division has announced a number of new hires. Jennifer Barrow joins as editor, Micah Walker moves up to assistant […]
Mamut Gets Waterstone’s for £53 Million, with Daunt to Run Company
The long, drawn-out process of selling Waterstone’s to minority investor Alexander Mamut is over, with his A&NN Capital Fund Management buying the bookseller for an increased price of £53 million. Parent company HMV didn’t get the £75 million it wanted (and theoretically need to help keep its lenders at bay), but the Russian billionaire paid considerably more than his reported original offer of £35 million. And Tim Waterstone, long speculated by an unimaginative UK press to be Mamut’s partner in the potential deal, will not be involved. Current managing director Dominic Myers won’t be moving with Waterstone’s, and will stay with […]
Authors: Roth Wins Man Booker International, with Controversy; Nesbo Opening Week Sales; and More
Knopf has been positioning Jo Nesbo‘s THE SNOWMAN as its big summer thriller breakout, and they report selling 20,000 total copies so far of the May 10 release – with digital making up as much as 65 percent, at 13,000 units sold. Since every media outlet under the sun has wondered whether Nesbo is “the next Stieg Larsson,” it’s worth noting that THE SNOWMAN exceeded sales of THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO by 2,000 units during the same time frame. “The Larsson comp is significant because it demonstrates how much shift there has been in our business in under […]
People: Davidar Starts New Publishing House in India, and More
Former Penguin Canada publisher David Davidar, who left the company and the country under a cloud of controversy after sexual harassment allegations, has joined forces with Rupa Publications India to start a new publishing house, the Aleph Book Company. The new venture will begin with a small and select group of fiction and non-fiction titles (evidently mirroring Faber and Faber in the UK.) Said Davidar in a statement: “I am thrilled to join hands with Rupa to launch this venture. We will be looking be ensure that each book we publish makes its mark and to that any title that […]
Briefs: CEO Letters from Borders, Lonely Planet; Zondervan Warehouse to Close; and More
In the wake of yesterday’s news that Lonely Planet would shift most of its web operations to the UK and lay off approximately 70 employees, CEO Matt Goldberg went into more detail about the reorganization in a memo to staff. In addition to reiterating the reorganization causes – losing $13 million on foreign currency due to a strong Australian dollar and reducing costs by 18 percent – Goldberg indicated the company’s digital revenues climbed to 21 percent from from 9 percent over the past four years, “which indicates our digital business has momentum.” Borders CEO Mike Edwards is taking his […]