Former longtime USA Today books reporter and critic Bob Minzesheimer, 66, died October 15 at his home in Ossining, NY of brain cancer. Minzesheimer joined Gannett in 1982, eventually becoming politics editor for USA Today before moving over to books and features from 1997 through 2014. He is survived by his wife, the documentary filmmaker Mary McDonagh Murphy, and their two children. A memorial service is planned in Ossining at a later date. Murphy told the local paper, “Nobody in his family went to college. Bob got his master’s at Columbia. His life was more than what he thought it would be, and […]
Another Disappointing Update from Pearson Sends Shares Down Further
Pearson’s third quarter trading update surprised investors who thought they had become accustomed to the education giant’s postponed recovery. The statement reads politely, “Pearson is reiterating its 2016 guidance and its 2018 goals are unchanged,” but the numbers have sales for the first three quarters of the year down 7 percent in underlying terms, and down 10 percent measured in constant exchange rates, saved a bit by the plunging British pound, which leaves actual topline numbers down only 3 percent (since two-thirds of their revenue comes in US dollars). That’s actually a little less poorly than they were doing at the […]
People, Etc.
Sweden’s Grand Agency has acquired competitor Stockholm Noir Agency (founded late last year) and SNA’s ceo Jenni Brunn will now work as an agent at Grand Agency. Brittany Boughter has joined Chronicle Books as marketing manager, entertainment and art. Most recently, she was digital marketing manager at Penguin Random House UK. Carolyn Cox has joined Open Road as editor of The Portalist, a new online community for fans of science fiction, fantasy, and genre-related pop culture news. Cox was previously an editor at the pop culture website The Mary Sue, and reports to Betsy Mitchell. Distribution & Sales Effective January 2, 2017, Baker & Taylor’s recently-formed Global […]
Hoffman’s Faithful Tops November Library Reads List
Alice Hoffman’s new novel Faithful is the no. 1 pick for the November Library Reads List. The rest of the list includes: The Fate of the Tearling, by Erika Johansen (Harper) Night School, by Lee Child (Delacorte) When All the Girls Have Gone, by Jayne Ann Krentz (Berkley) I’ll Take You There, by Wally Lamb (Harper) Swing Time, by Zadie Smith (Penguin Press) Victoria: The Queen, by Julia Baird (Random House) Moonglow, by Michael Chabon (Harper) Normal, by Warren Ellis (FSG Originals) Orphans of the Carnival, by Carol Birch (Doubleday)
Rumblings of Kindle Limitations for Self-Published Authors
The latest Author Earnings report is surprised to find declining sales of self-published books in their October survey, as traditional publishers registered small gains and Amazon Publishing continues its steady rise. In the measure that publishers follow — gross ebook dollar sales — AE found traditional publishers with about 65 percent of Kindle revenues, and Amazon Publishing at about 10 percent of sales. They put self-published authors at just under 20 percent of sales (down from 25 percent in the last two surveys earlier in 2016) and “uncategorized single-author publisher” sales at just above 5 percent. And those figures include […]
Book Sales Continue Modest Decline at WH Smith, As Profits Improve
UK-based WH Smith reported annual results through August 31, declaring what passes for “another good performance” at their High Street stores — which means trading profit there grow £3 million to £62 million, even as sales continued to ebb. Total sales in the division fell 3 percent and same-store sales declined 2 percent, even with the launch of the Zoella Book Club and the popularity of “color therapy” books, which “were a key driver of sales.” But book sales still feel 2 percent on a same-store-basis, with stationery sales rising and a growing initiative to install actual Post Offices inside the stores. They note that “kids book sales […]