New York, N.Y., November 30, 2010 — It was announced today that the rights to a new memoir by God – Supreme Being, wellspring of existence, quintessence of glory, and source of everlasting life – have been acquired by Simon & Schuster. “We are pleased and honored to add the Lord Almighty to our list of notable authors,” said Executive Vice President and Publisher Jonathan Karp. The as-yet-untitled testament which Karp says he plans to publish in late 2011–in time for the busy pre-Armageddon retail season–will be semi-autobiographical in nature. Senior editor Sarah Knight says this time around God […]
The Barnes & Noble Paradox: Nook Sales, and Expenses, Continue to Grow As Book Sales Slide
Barnes & Noble reported second quarter results through the end of October this morning, with lower sales and bigger losses than analysts were expecting, even with promising execution of their growth strategies. While showing sales success in their digital and non-book business lines, the expenses of the company’s transition continue to weigh on their results. For the second time this year they increased their full-year loss projections, now saying that they will range from 75 cents to $1.15 a share, or 50 cents a share more than their last revised forecast in August. That news sent shares down sharply in […]
Two Legal Alerts: Crackdown on Photo Licenses, and Project Gutenberg May Have Incorrectly Posted Copyrighted Stories that Ran In Magazines As Public Demain
For a long time at least some publishers have licensed photographs for books under terms that cover a specified maximum number of copies only, without rigorously revisiting those limits for compliance later on. As Photo District News reports, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s textbook division has been the focus of “30 copyright infringement claims over the past five years in federal courts” from photographers and others. At least three of the claims have been thrown out of court based on a finding of improper copyright registration, and there have been settlements in “about 20″ of those cases so far.” They write: “In […]
People
Former longtime director of rights and contracts at McClelland & Stewart Marilyn Biderman has opened an eponymous literary agency, based in Toronto, and is out with her first submission in both the US and Canada: French-Canadian Marguerite Pigeon’s debut novel OPEN PIT. Biderman says she will represent genre, commercial and literary fiction, along with narrative nonfiction and memoir and “the occasional expert as a client as well.” In deciding her next step in publishing, Biderman says, “I really looked at what was important to me and where my allegiances lie. It’s always been with the publishing process and protecting the […]
Bookselling: New Owners for Children’s Store; Preserving Stores North of Boston
Jill Stefanovich and Jenesse Evertson, both buyers at Narnia Children’s Books in Richmond, VA, bought the store this fall after a deal to sell the store to someone else fell through and it faced closure. They have renamed it BBGB, which is “purposefully cryptic,” though it officially stands for Bring Back Great Books.Richmond Times Dispatch Following the closure of Cornerstone Books in Salem, MA, the Boston Globe looks at efforts to survive and prosper among bookstores in the North Shore area, where “about 30 independent booksellers open their doors every day in communities north of Boston, including a few in […]
Lunch Weekly for Monday, November 29
Deal Reports Just e-mail to deals@PublishersMarketplace if you aren’t using the online form linked below. Report a deal using the online form The Key As usual, the handy key to our Lunch deal categories. While all reports are always welcome, those that include a category will generally receive a higher listing when it comes time to put them all together. “nice deal” $1 – $49,000 “very nice deal” $50,000 – $99,000 “good deal” $100,000 – $250,000 “significant deal” $251,000 – $499,000 “major deal” $500,000 and up FICTION Debut Presidential fellow at Ohio State University Claire Vaye Watkins’s BATTLEBORN, a […]