Knopf has announced that all three volumes of Haruki Murakami‘s novel 1Q84 will be published as a single, 928-page book on October 25. The first two volumes were translated by Jay Rubin and the third by Philip Gabriel, and the combined edition will have a hardcover list price of $30 and an e-book edition published simultaneously. The UK edition of 1Q84 will not include the third volume, but will be published around the same time. The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission released its final report on Thursday, with Public Affairs’ book version going on-sale the same day. Demand has evidently been […]
Borders Won’t Make January Payments, Either, And They Aren’t Paying Rent
Borders officially announced Sunday night that it will not be sending vendors payments due at the end of January either. And they indicate that publishers are not the only ones being stiffed, saying they are also “delaying additional payments to landlords and other parties.” Not paying rent is more drastic than holding off vendors, and indicates the company’s liquidity crisis continues to worsen. They say the non-payment (which they call a “delay” in the press release, but that’s what you call it when you intend to pay someone in full a little while later, which is not what is proposed) […]
Waterstone’s Tells Publisher They Are Cutting Orders As of March
As part of Waterstone’s perpetual turnaround efforts in the UK, the chain informed multiple major publishers by e-mail earlier this week that for new titles coming in March they are cutting their initial orders by approximately 20 percent. Publishers were asked to cancel existing pre-orders so that the chain can place new orders at the lower inventory levels. They told publishers that “initial over-ordering of new titles” is continuing to create “substantial unnecessary costs across the supply chain, most notably in returns.” One UK executive noted that “they’re managing their working capital very carefully for obvious reasons” but the good […]
Grove/Atlantic Turns Digital Distribution Over to Constellation
As part of the renewal of their physical book distribution relationship, Grove/Atlantic will now use Perseus’s Constellation for digital distribution services as well. At one point Grove had come close to working with Open Road, though that deal was never completed and the publisher has been managing its own digital publishing until now. Company head Morgan Entrekin said he concluded that “our strength is to focus on the editorial, marketing and publishing side rather than the distribution side” in the digital space, as they already do with physical distribution. “You have to figure out how to allocate your resources in […]
People, Etc.
At William Morrow, Katherine Nintzel has been promoted to senior editor. At Delacorte Press, Krista Vitola has been promoted to assistant editor. Canadian crime novelist Michael Van Rooy died of a sudden heart attack while on tour for his latest book, A Criminal to Remember. He was 42 years old.CBC Obit Man Booker Prize judges will be supplied with e-readers to help them with incoming submissions.BBC Books & Books will open a new store in downtown Miami sometime between mid-February and early March.Miami Herald
Borders Still Needs $125 Million from Publishers to Close GE Financing
Borders announced on Thursday night at long last what they have basically been saying for a month: they have a heavily-contingent financing “commitment” from GE Capital, Restructuring Finance for a new $550 million line of credit. Among the many complex “conditions” to obtain the new line is that $125 million in vendor payables must be converted into debt (or, alternately, that “external sources” provide an equivalent amount of additional financing.) Additionally, CEO Mike Edwards now admits (or threatens, depending upon how you view it) that “it is prudent as well for Borders to explore alternative avenues, including the possibility of […]