Pearson, McGraw-Hill, Kaplan and HMH are among several textbook publishers that have signed with Scrollmotion to adapt and develop textbooks as applications, test-prep and study guides for the iPad. Scrollmotion will take and adapt digital files provided by publishers for the iPad, and then add extra features, which the WSJ reports “include applications to let students play video, highlight text, record lectures, take printed notes, search the text, and participate in interactive quizzes to test how much they’ve learned and where they may need more work.” To date textbook adoption on e-readers has been slow (as Amazon could attest with […]
People and Announcements
Howard W. Reeves, publisher of Abrams Books for Young Readers and Amulet Books, will become editor-at-large of the company. Following Brendan Deneen’s departure, FinePrint Literary Management has hired Pouya Shahbazian as a literary manager/producer, specializing in book-to-film and TV deals for clients and also running FinePrint Productions, producing and packaging film and television projects. He co-founded ManDown Pictures & Management in 2007 after working at the Broder-Webb-Chervin-Silbermann Agency. CEO of Activision’s Guitar Hero franchise (and before that chief operating officer at Yahoo) Daniel Rosensweig has joined online textbook rental company Chegg.com as president and ceo. At Publishing Technology, Douglas Wright […]
Burkle Complains to Barnes & Noble Board; "Allow me to acquire up to 37%" Stake Like the Riggios
We return to another of the hot topics of recent months: what does investor Ron Burkle and his investor-friends at Aletheia Research want with Barnes & Noble now that they have built 19 percent and 17 percent blocks of the company’s stock, respectively? Are they looking to take control of the company, force it private, or simply overthrow the Riggio family from control? Yesterday Burkle filed with the SEC to indicate the acquisition of more shares, accompanied by a letter that he sent to the BN board. He makes it clear that he would like to “wag[e] a successful proxy […]
Barnes & Noble Discover Award Finalists
The bookseller announced the contenders for their annual Discover Awards, to be presented on March 3: FictionBarb Johnson, More of This World or Maybe Another (HarperPerennial)Victor Lodato, Mathilda Savitch (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)C. E. Morgan, All the Living (Farrar, Straus & Giroux) NonfictionDave Cullen, Columbine (Twelve)Toby Lester, The Fourth Part of the World: The Race to the Ends of the Earth, and the Epic Story of the Map that Gave America Its Name (Twelve)Neil White, In the Sanctuary of Outcasts: A Memoir (William Morrow)Release
Princeton Architectural Press Buys Its Independence
Princeton Architectural Press founder and publisher Kevin Lippert has bought back the company from Springer Verlag, which has owned the press since 1997. He says in the announcement, “It has been a pleasure to be part of the Springer family for these many years…but the strategic directions of our two businesses were diverging so quickly that a partnership no longer made sense. Our new independent status will provide us with the opportunity to use the innovations we’ve learned from Springer, particularly in electronic books, to continue to broaden the scope of what design publishing constitutes.”
Newton Children's Store for Sale; NAIBA Defends Sales Reps
The children’s bookstore connected to Newtonville Books The Lizard Tale, in Newton, MA is up for sale. Newtonville Books owner Mary Cotton notes, “We just renewed the lease, so we can pursue this sale in a leisurely manner with the hope of finding someone whose passion for children’s literature matches my passion for adult literature and the literary programming we provide the community through Newtonville Books.” The New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association has given voice to the concerns of their members in an open letter to publishers: “Restricting field reps to large stores will give publishers a skewed view of […]