The WSJ covers the resilience and success of some of the UK’s best independent publishers, giving Jamie Byng’s Canongate in particular the kind of press he gets all the time in the UK. In each case, one big author or book has lifted the entire house. Barack Obama the author has taken Canongate to new heights financially; Atlantic Books’ sales “more than doubled…thanks largely” to The White Tiger; and Steig Larsson has rescued the otherwise-overextended Quercus. Faber and Faber sales director Will Atkinson quips, “There are some big publishers who can’t go to the toilet without looking at BookScan. They […]
Small/Indie Publishers
Barefoot Path to Success
With their 1,000-square-foot boutique in the Fifth Avenue FAO Schwarz opening on Thursday, Cambridge children’s publisher Barefoot Books is the focus of a feature in the Boston Globe. “Under the deal, FAO Schwarz isn’t charging rent, but revenue from book sales will be split 50-50.” (Schwarz ceo Ed Schmults made the deal after visting Barefoot’s store in Cambridge. “The deal vindicated [owner Nancy] Traversy’s decision to keep the 7-year-old shop open. Though her company as a whole is profitable, the store has never made a profit.” With reported sales of $6.8 million last year, the company’s revenues come in a […]