Simon & Schuster convened a celebration of retiring president of Scribner Publishing Group and publisher of Touchstone Susan Moldow — a self-admitted “Murphy Brown of book publishing” — with an affectionate, admiring and at times rollicking collection of toasts (and roasts) on Thursday night. Presenters included her longtime partners at Scribner, publisher Nan Graham and associate publisher Roz Lippel (who read a statement from Stephen King) — along with a song from Scribner director of publicity Brian Belfiglio, performed to the tune of These Boots Are Made for Walkin’ (“These clips are made for marketing, wave them high you’ll do…). […]
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Parneros v. Barnes & Noble Inches Forward
Judge John G. Koetl convened a pre-trial conference in the high-profile Parneros v. Barnes & Noble case Tuesday afternoon, which he kicked off by asking counsel to describe the case. Parneros’ attorney Anne Clark of Vladeck, Raskin & Clark rehashed the details of the original complaint before raising the possibility of a motion to dismiss Barnes & Noble’s counterclaims, saying they didn’t meet the court’s standards — and reiterated that the countersuit, along with the company’s press release when Parneros was fired, had made him unhirable according to headhunters. The judge was wary of dismissal, offering that “the existence of […]
Simon & Schuster Sales and Profits Gain on FEAR and More
Bob Woodward’s FEAR helped lift Simon & Schuster’s sales in the third quarter to $240 million, up $12 million from a year ago, following two flat quarters. Operating income continued its steady rise, at $51 million for the quarter, $3 million higher than a year ago. In what ceo Carolyn Reidy called, “A great quarter,” adult publishing was up 6.5 percent (with other top titles including Reese Witherspoon’s Whiskey In A Teacup); children’s publishing rose 7 percent, aided by the Netflix adaptation of Jenny Han’s To All the Boy’s I’ve Loved Before; and audio was up 15 percent. Adding to recent […]
Shareholders Step In with $13 million to Secure Quarto’s Credit Extension
The Quarto Group announced that it has successfully extended its current banking facility, originally set to expire in April 2019, for one additional year. In September, the company said it was close to concluding negotiations on their $80 million syndicated facility, noting that “the key terms, which include a debt reduction program, have been agreed and we expect to be able to announce details of the refinancing in the short term.” This modest one-year extension makes good on that promise — but was apparently made possible only by investors and affiliates, who agreed to step in with an additional $13 […]
Barnes & Noble Says Parneros “Made Shocking and Derogatory Comments” That Wrecked Company Sale
Barnes & Noble filed its response to former ceo Demos Parneros’s suit alleging breach of contract and defamation on Tuesday, denying Parneros’s allegations and countersuing “to recover…the substantial damages flowing from Parneros’s breach of his fiduciary duties,” claiming that he intentionally “sabotage[d]” a deal to sell the company. In the filing B&N admits there was a sale in progress, as Parneros asserted in his suit, but they also say his statements about that deal comprise “a breach of [his] confidentiality obligations.” By the company’s account, the potential acquirer first approached chairman Len Riggio in late January with interest and made […]
Canongate Has Loss Following Acquisition and Advance Writedown
Edinburgh’s Canongate filed its earnings statement for the year ended December 2017, on the usual delayed UK timetable. While overall sales increased, to £9.59 million from £8.54 million in 2016, the company had an unprofitable year, logging a pre-tax loss of £440,000. The publisher had slim profits in 2016 (£128,000) and 2015 (£119,000) after a big loss in 2014 (-£1.3 million). The bump in sales is due in part to the September 2017 acquisition of Severn House , which now comprises a meaningful portion of Canongate’s overall sales. (Severn House had sales in 2016 of £3.26 million.) “We took additional […]