Brooklyn author Lisa Skye is suing her former agent, Jayne Rockmill, for puportedly stealing the idea that became the cookbook “I Love Bacon”, published by Andrews McMeel in 2009. According to the lawsuit, filed in Brooklyn Supreme Court, Skye said she and Rockmill jointly put together a proposal for the book after meeting at a launch party in 2007 for an earlier, self-published cookbook. Skye claims she fired Rockmill in early 2009 after she “became disenchanted with Rockmill’s aggressive style”, and was “stunned” to find a copy of the book with Rockmill’s name on it in a San Francisco bookstore […]
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Author of Historical Novel Featuring JRR Tolkien Files Pre-Emptive Complaint To Counter Estate Objections
The JRR Tolkien Estate’s perennial objections to the use and licensing of the author’s work and characters were back inn the spotlight last week after Stephen Hilliard, the Texas-based author of “Mirkwood, A Novel About J.R.R. Tolkien”, an historical novel featuring Tolkien as a character, filed a lawsuit in Texas District Court in an attempt to release the book, published through BookSurge. Hilliard told the Hollywood Reporter that on the eve of the novel’s release, the Tolkien Estate filed a cease-and-desist letter alleging “it had a property right to commercially exploit the name and likeness of J.R.R. Tolkien” and that […]
Bookselling: Albuquerque’s Page One Files for Chapter 11
Page One in Albuquerque, N.M. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on February 11 after 30 years in business, citing assets of $799,183 and liabilities of $1,371,258, of which $474,885 are unsecured claims. In addition, “amounts unknown” are due to more than 50 creditors. Court documents filed by owner Steven Morado Stout indicate that “after any exempt property is excluded, and administrative expenses paid, there will be no funds available for distribution to unsecured creditors.” Several publishers are among those unsecured creditors, including the University of Mexico Press, reportedly owed $12,000. In a subsequent email to customers, Stout added “in […]
Who Else Benefits – Or Suffers – From Borders’ Bankruptcy?
In addition to the bankruptcy’s effect on book sales and publishers’ respective bottom lines, Borders’ Chapter 11 filing will have a domino effect on a number of related players, among them: LandlordsPublicly-traded Michigan-based Agree Realty was often cited as being in the most precarious position, because Borders stores made up approximately 20% of their total real estate portfolio (and was as high as 27%). Yesterday Agree released a statement indicating that 5 of the 14 Borders properties it owns (which includes company headquarters in Ann Arbor, up for sale, and two buildings not currently occupied by Borders) are slated for […]
People, Etc.
Hachette Book Group has reorganized its Online Marketing efforts. Effective today, Kelly Leonard will be VP, Executive Director, Web Strategies, responsible for responsible for the strategy and ongoing development of all HBG corporate and product websites. Associate Director Online Marketing Brad Parsons and Online Marketing Coordinator Brianne Beers move to Grand Central and report to Jennifer Romanello. Anna Balasi joins Little, Brown as Online Marketing Associate, while Sarah Reck will continue to work as a Web Publicist on Center Street titles, but will now report to Harry Helm. Sally Kim will join Touchstone as editorial director, reporting to publisher Stacy […]
Briefs: Quarto Annual Sales Rise; Hay House to Make Their Own Vooks; Planeta Acquires Bertrand; Gardners To Sell Direct to Consumers; and More
Quarto reported an 8 percent rise in adjusted pre-tax profit for the year to December to £7.4m from £6.9m, and a 7 percent jump in revenue to £113.8m from £106.6m. Its publishing division revenue increased 7 percent to £75.1m. Quarto cited “continued focus on developing markets, in particular Brazil and China, and improved trading in the UK and Australasia” for the revenue and profit gains. Release Hay House has become the first publisher to sign on to use Vook’s engine for creating enhanced ebooks at scale (called MotherVook). The product “converts disparate and varied file formats; combines text, video and […]