Amazon announced it will close its distribution center in Irving, TX on April 12 and scuttle plans to hire 1,000 more people for the facility, which opened in 2006. The move came in response to an ongoing tax dispute with the State of Texas, which seeks to collect $269 million in revenue from the retailer. “Despite much hard work and the support of other Texas officials, we’ve been unable to come to a resolution with the Texas comptroller’s office,” VP operations Dave Clark said in a letter to employees obtained by the Dallas Morning News. “Closing this fulfillment [distribution] center […]
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Updates: More on Bolano Serialization and USAT Bestseller Lists
Yesterday’s Lunch dispatch misstated the nature of The Paris Review’s excerpting of Roberto Bolano’s novel THE THIRD REICH, which FSG will publish near the end of the year. The magazine is, in fact, serializing the book over four consecutive issues, with the final installment to be released in the first week of December. This is the first time in forty years that The Paris Review has serialized a novel. Editor Lorin Stein tells us the full novel will be published by FSG in mid-December, but the publisher’s fall catalog currently lists a November publication date, and director of publicity Jeff […]
Briefs: New Eugenides Novel; Excerpts of New Bolano and Gov. Patrick Books; and More
Jeffrey Eugenides‘ first novel in nine years (and his first since the Pulitzer Prize winner MIDDLESEX) will be published by FSG in October. Catalog copy describes THE MARRIAGE PLOT as “a brilliant, funny, and heartbreaking novel about the glories and vicissitudes of young love”, with the 576-page novel priced as a $28 hardcover. FSG will also publish Roberto Bolano‘s previously undiscovered manuscript THE THIRD REICH in November, with an excerpt running in the spring issue of The Paris Review – the first time the magazine has excerpted a novel in nearly 40 years.WSJ In his forthcoming memoir, Massachusetts Governor Deval […]
Powell’s Lays Off 31 Staffers, Citing the “Unprecedented, Rapidly Changing Nature” of the Book Industry
On Tuesday Powell’s Books laid off 31 staffers, or approximately 7 percent of its unionized work force, at its stores in Burnside and Beaverton and two industrial warehouses, a move they cite as a response to the “unprecedented, rapidly changing nature of the book industry.” In a statement Powell’s cited “changing consumer behavior” – namely, the rise in e-book sales – as causing a significant impact over the past three years, along with “an industry-wide decline in new book sales, rising healthcare costs, and the economy.” President Emily Powell stated “I feel it is critical to make some very difficult […]
Wiley to Write off $9M in Bad Debt From Borders
Wiley won’t report its 3rd quarter earnings until March 10, but today the publisher stated they will write off a pre-tax bad debt expense of approximately $9m (or $6m after-tax) from Borders. According to the SEC filing, “This net charge represents the difference between Wiley’s outstanding receivable with Borders and our expectation of potential offsets and recoveries in the future, and existing reserves for this customer.” Wiley stopped shipping books to Borders in December, when the retailer first indicated it would delay paying vendors, and as such Wiley further states that “no additional charge or bad debt expense with respect […]
Canadian Distributor HB Fenn Initiates Bankruptcy Proceedings
Meanwhile, the surprise bankruptcy filing came yesterday from Canada, where the country’s largest distributor HB Fenn & Company initiated bankruptcy proceedings under the country’s Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. In a brief statement Fenn said it had “encountered significant financial challenges due to the loss of distribution lines, shrinking margins and the significant shift to e-books, all of which have significantly reduced the company’s revenues.” The company’s Lisa Winstanley told the National Post more bluntly, “we’re ceasing operations effective immediately.” The paper calls it “the largest collapse of a Canadian publishing company since General Distribution Services/Stoddart Publishing went under in August […]