Arcadia Publishing has acquired midwest publisher Belt Publishing. They write in a release that Belt will maintain editorial independence and publish under its existing brand. Arcadia ceo Brittain Phillips said, “Belt provides Arcadia with two terrific opportunities in one acquisition. It strengthens our local and regional catalog in the Midwest, where Belt has been publishing remarkable books for a decade. And as we look to the future, Belt helps to expand the way we think about local-interest publishing, with new voices and fresh ways to define sense of place.”
IPG, Books International Launch Hardcover Short-Run Digital Printing Program
Independent Publishers Group has partnered with Books International to launch a new hardcover short run digital printing program at a lower price point. They write in a release, “The cost of the average black and white, 200-page, 6 x 9 casebound title with foil stamping and dust jacket is now deep into the single digits per copy and may approach half the price of what many are used to seeing in the marketplace. If all that is needed is case laminate, the price drop is even more pronounced.” The program debuts at the end of March. David Hetherington, Books International’s […]
Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick
People 2/7
Senior vice president for distribution in Maryland Vince Annoreno will retire on October 1 after 35 years at Penguin Random House.
People 2/6
Children’s Sales Gained in November, While Adult Books Fell
The Association of American Publishers released sales data for November from participating StatShot publishers, reporting trade sales down 1.5 percent to $775.2 million. Adult books sold $513 million, a 6 percent drop from the previous year. Hardcovers sold $213.6 million, down 4 percent, and paperback sales fell 12 percent to $137.9 million. Ebook sales were also down, 6 percent to $68.6 million, while digital audio sales rose 15.5 percent to $70.1 million. In YA and children’s books, sales were up 8 percent to $261.1 million. Hardcovers sold 100.6 million, a gain of 11 percent, while paperbacks rose 12 percent to […]