Barnes & Noble chose After Annie by Anna Quindlen as their March National Book Club Selection.
Lakeside to Close Menasha Plant, Lay Off All 339 Employees, Will Close Two More Plants By Year-End
Lakeside Book Company indicated in a WARN notice to the state of Wisconsin that it will “permanently close its print production facility” in Menasha, WI, “due to changing market conditions.” As a result they will terminate all 339 employees at the plant, starting June 7 and ending June 21, when it will close. “Each employee impacted will receive a written 60-day notice of position elimination and will be paid all earned wages and agreed upon benefits at the time of their termination.” That work force was already reduced in 2023 through both voluntary and mandatory layoffs. General counsel and chief […]
Lagardere Publishing Grows on Acquisitions, Takes Big Charges, As HBG Sales Fell 6.8 Percent in 2023
Lagardere released financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2023, with fourth quarter publishing sales of €795 million, up 5.8 percent (or 6.1 percent on a like-for-like basis). For the year, sales of €2.809 billion were up €61 million or 2.2 percent from 2022 (up 1.9 percent like-for-like). Recurring EBIT was just below flat at €301 million (down €1 million), though that does not tell the full story, since overall profit before finance costs and tax fell significantly, at €199 million, down from €291 million a year ago. The year’s sales gains were due primarily to a €50 […]
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Distribution: New IPG Clients
IPG will sell and distribute Firefly Press in North America starting March 1; Monogatari Novels in the US and Canada starting March 1; Northwestern Publishing House worldwide starting April 1; and Iskanchi Press worldwide starting April 1.
Inkitt Raises $37 Million In Series C
Self-publishing website Inkitt raised another $37 million in Series C financing, led by Khosla Ventures. valuing the company at about $400 million post-money. (That’s only slightly above where they stood after raising $57 million in 2021.) Unfortunately, the capital will help fund “AI to write stories based on your original ideas, and to produce versions of its fiction personalized for specific readers” among other purposes. The facile tech media repeats CEO and founder Ali Albazaz’s claim that “Inkitt, in aggregate, ranks as the number 11 best-selling publisher globally” — to which TechCrunch amusingly adds “above household names like Penguin Random […]