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Thursday, November 14, 2024
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Among the latest reports:
Nell Zink’s AVALON, a Cinderella story framed as a confession, following Daniel Halpern to Knopf in his first acquisition there, in a two-book deal.
Author of DESIGN THE LIFE YOU LOVE Ayse Birsel’s DESIGN THE LONG LIFE YOU LOVE, using her own design process to show readers how to construct an optimal life as they age, to Running Press, in a significant deal, at auction.
Author of THE SECRET PATH and CHRISTMAS AT TIFFANY’S Karen Swan’s THE LAST SUMMER, the first in The Wild Isle series, set in the 1930s, following the lives of five young women from the remote Scottish island of St Kilda as they leave their home in search of better lives; to Pan Macmillan, in a seven-figure deal.
Wall Street Journal editor Ebony Reed and Louise Story’s THE BLACK DOLLAR, a deep dive into the racial disparities and discriminatory practices of the financial industry and the government throughout history, to Harper Business, in a pre-empt.
HuffPost senior reporter Jesselyn Cook’s THE QUIET DAMAGE, an examination—expanding on her viral longform piece—of the devastating effect of QAnon on American families, to Crown.
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Hello Sunshine Announces Big Sale
Reese Witherspoon’s production company Hello Sunshine will be purchased by a new firm financed by private-equity company Blackstone. The terms of the deal weren’t announced, but a source told the WSJ the deal values Hello Sunshine at $900 million, with Blackstone spending over $500 million to buy out Hello Sunshine's outside investors, including AT&T and Emerson Collective. Witherspoon and some the company's executives and investors "will roll over the remaining equity into ownership stakes in the new company Blackstone is forming."
Former Disney executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs will run the new entertainment company that is purchasing Hello Sunshine, with a focus on streaming content; Witherspoon and chief executive Sarah Harden will join the board, and continue to run Hello Sunshine. Witherspoon said, “I’m going to double down on that mission to hire more female creators from all walks of life and showcase their experiences. This is a meaningful move in the world because it really means that women’s stories matter.”
Continuing the investment theme we referred to yesterday, big sales for companies based on your content, Harden noted how, as the Journal put it, "the company's relationship with authors [through Reese's Book Club] helps when its executives are bidding for the rights to turn books into shows and movies. Harden said: “The advantage that we have is in tentpoling a book and putting a spotlight on it.”
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Quarto Shows Profit on Sales Rebound, Expresses Concern on Shipping and Printing Costs
Quarto reported sales for the first half of 2021, with revenues rebounding to pre-Covid levels: They had sales of $56.9 million -- "against a weak comparative" of $46.9 million last year, and in line with $56.4 million in 2019, and $56.2 million in 2019. They showed an actual profit before tax as well, of $3 million, compared to a loss of ($4) million last year.
Notably, the outlook for the second half of the year includes a warning that many publishers are experiencing: "One area of concern is the volatility in freight, with capacity issues and freight costs increasing 3 to 4-fold since the turn of the year. We are also seeing pressure on print prices. We continue to look to mitigate these costs by using local printer suppliers and reviewing our inventory policy to ensure we print in the most efficient quantities. We expect this pressure on print and freight to increase our costs significantly."
In the statement, chief executive and controlling shareholder CK Lau says: "We are now focused on the critical second half as we expect the trading environment to be particularly challenging, especially with the volatility in freight, regarding capacity issues and freight costs. That said, we have the right plans in place to capture all possible opportunities and ensure a satisfactory year-end. The Board remains focused on continuing its efforts to keep costs under control, drive sales, whilst maintaining the debt reduction and defining further growth strategies for 2022 and beyond."
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New Books Publishing August 3
Stephen King, Anthony Veasna So, Megan Abbott, and Juan Gabriel Vasquez lead this week’s fiction releases, while nonfiction includes Emily Oster, James Lapine, and Robert Meyer and Dan Koeppel. Also new this week are titles from Mari K. Eder and Julie Murphy, both excerpted and available for download in our Buzz Books 2021: Spring/Summer sampler, and Ash Davidson, excerpted in the Buzz Books 2021: Fall/Winter sampler.
We consult a number of sources in compiling our weekly lists and PM members can see our lists for the coming three months through this reference page. But if you want to make sure your key titles are on our radar, now you can use this form to submit brief details as well: publun.ch/submitNotable. Please submit your notable titles at least 3 months prior to pub date.
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People
Running Press | |
Shannon Kelly is joining as editor. She was previously associate editor at Abrams.
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Random House Children's | |
Kristopher Kam has been promoted to publicity manager.
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Holloway Literary | |
Bethany Fulk has been promoted to junior agent.
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Hilsinger-Mendelson | |
Emily Willette has joined as publicity manager. She was previously at Bloomsbury.
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Putnam | |
Emily Mlynek has been promoted to assistant director, marketing.
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Bantam Ballantine Dell | |
Elana Seplow-Jolley has left to launch New Moon Editorial, “an independent holistic editing service.”
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Yoto | |
Larissa Helena has joined the children’s audio platform as head of content acquisition, US. Previously she was at Callisto Media.
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More August Picks: GMA and B&N Book Clubs
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Acquisitions: PRH Buys 20 20 Editora, Forms New Division In Portugal
Penguin Random House has acquired the 20|20 Editora group in Portugal and will bring together all of its imprints there in a new entity, Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial Portugal. 20|20 founder Manuel de Freitas holds a 15 stake in the new company and serves as general director, reporting to Patxi Beascoa, with editorial continuing to be run by Clara Capitão.
PRH ceo Markus Dohle says in the statement, "It is a privilege to expand the scope and strength of our editorial programs in Portugal, bringing together the catalogs of Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial and 20|20 Editora. Together, we will bring the excellent work of our authors to as many readers as possible nationally and internationally, as we strive to create the next generation of readers and strengthen the future of books in our society. We can't wait to see the editorial catalog that this partnership will produce."
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Awards: NBF Receives Grant to Highlight Science and Technology Books By Diverse Authors
The National Book Foundation will launch a new prize for books by diverse authors writing about science and technology, backed by a three-year, $525,000 grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Three books a year will receive $10,000 awards, with the first titles to be selected in winter/spring 2022.
The Science + Literature program is charged with "exploring the connection between science and the humanities" in order to "deepen readers' understanding of science and technology with a focus on work that celebrates, highlights, and contributes to the diversity of voices in scientific writing." Vice president and program director at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Doron Weber says in the announcement, "We are honored to partner with the National Book Foundation to recognize exceptional books by diverse writers that highlight scientific themes or characters and to reach across the country in discovering new voices and attracting new audiences that engage with the role of science and technology."
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Imprints: RBmedia Rebrands Business Titles
RBmedia will publish their business audiobooks under the new brand, Ascent Audio. The line is the successor to their Gildan Media brand (which they acquired in 2017). All of their business titles produced in partnership with other publishers will be issued under the Ascent Audio name, with the recently acquired McGraw Hill Professional business titles publishing under a joint McGraw Hill-Ascent brand.
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As usual, the Publishers Lunch Automat is full of links (and condensations) of many other stories of interest from all over, including:
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The industry’s leading job board, we have new listings every day, including most recently:
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