As Sony has rapidly declined from their former position as the No. 2 ebookseller in the US, many publishers have been mystified by the company’s lack of innovation and response to market trends. In a small glimmer of reformation, their ReaderStore has announced that they will finally start adding cross-platform apps–just like every other major vendor already has in place–some time in December. For now, they are promising iPhone and Android apps only.Sony site
Yaged to Run Macmillan Children’s, and More People News
Macmillan has hired Jonathan Yaged to take over as president of their children’s publishing group from Dan Farley, reporting to company ceo John Sargent. Yaged had been publisher of the Disney Book Group before leaving there at the end of last year to join web-based marketer House Party as chief operating office. Macmillan imprint publishers Simon Boughton, Jean Feiwel, and Roger Priddy will report to Yaged, along with director of marketing Joy Dallanegra-Sanger. He says in the announcement, “I am thrilled to be joining the Macmillan family and feel fortunate to become part of a company with such beloved authors […]
Lunch Weekly for Monday, November 22
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 Owen Laukkanen’s THE PROFESSIONALS, pitched as comparable to the work of […]
People
Co-founder and coo of distributor CDS (later bought by Perseus) Steve Black has joined SImon & Schuster in the new position of vp, client publisher services. He will have responsibility for distribution client relationships, including new business development, reporting to Dennis Eulau. EVP of sales and marketing Michael Selleck says in the announcement, “We areeager to take on the challenge of helping new and existing clients grow their positions in the marketplace, and look forward to joining forces with Steve to accomplish that.” At Chronicle Children’s, Naomi Kirsten was promoted to associate editor. Norman Mailer’s widow and novelist and memoir […]
Skyhorse Buys Allworth
Skyhorse Publishing announced on Friday that they have acquired New York-based Allworth Press, which publishes business and self-help books for artists, photographers, graphic designers, and interior designers as well as for filmmakers, performing artists, and authors. Founder Tad Crawford will continue as publisher of Allworth, which has a backlist of over 300 books and publishes 18 to 20 new titles a year. They say in the announcement that Allworth had sales of $1.4 million in 2009. Skyhorse president Tony Lyons says in the release, “I have admired Allworth Press for two decades. Skyhorse is always looking for quality lists and […]
Harper Gets Temporary Restraining Order Blocking Gawker Excerpts
Federal District Court Judge Thomas Griesa convened a hearing Saturday afternoon on HarperCollins’ filing against Gawker. The judge issued a temporary restraining order under which Gawker is “restrained and enjoined from continuing to distribute, publish or otherwise transmit pages” of Sarah Palin’s forthcoming book. A hearing has been set for November 30. In compliance with the order, Gawker is no longer displaying the 21 pages of the book that they had posted on their site. Since Palin’s book will be published on Tuesday, the real question now is whether Gawker will be assessed damages for copyright infringement. In an earlier […]