Circana Bookscan tracked sales of 418,000 hardcovers in the US for Britney Spears’ memoir THE WOMAN IN ME in its first week of release. Separately, Nielsen Bookscan recorded sales of almost 91,000 hardcovers in the UK. Gallery says they sold 1.1 million units in the US across all formats, with particularly strong audiobook sales. The publisher calls the narration read by Michelle Williams their fastest-selling audiobook. More broadly, they report, “The book has been published in 26 languages/territories and is a No. 1 bestseller with an estimated 2.4 million copies in print globally.” With a week of popular releases — […]
Scholastic Union Holds Walk-Out on Nov. 1
Members of the Scholastic Union, which is represented by the NewsGuild of New York, participated in a one-day work stoppage on Wednesday. According to a press release, they are protesting “the company’s refusal to pay its workers fair wages, specifically its rejection of the Scholastic Union’s proposal for annual raises.” The union’s contract expired in May 2022, and the NewsGuild reports that employees have been bargaining since last October. The union, which represents 82 employees, held an afternoon rally outside of the company’s New York City headquarters.
People 11/1
The Bookseller reports that PRH UK has proposed eliminating 38 roles (1.84 percent of staff) across multiple divisions and departments.
Vivendi’s Sale of Editis Approved
The European Commission has approved Vivendi’s sale of French-language book publisher Editis to Czech Media Invest (CMI), owned by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky. Through equity firm Vesa, Kretinsky also owns a 25.03 percent portion of French book retailer Fnac Darty. The Commission decided that, since Kretinsky’s minority stake does not allow him to control Fnac Darty, the purchase of Editis would not lead to any competition issues between the retailer and Editis. Now that Editis is spun off, the EU will likely approve Vivendi’s purchase of Lagardere.
November Picks
Reese Witherspoon chose Maybe Next Time by Cesca Major as her November book club pick.
Book Stats: Almost Half of Americans Haven’t Tried eBooks
You.gov recently published the results of an online poll of 29,000 Americans about their book ownership. Over 90 percent of respondents own at least some printed books. Yet 45 percent of survey participants do not own any ebooks, suggesting they have never even tried the format. But the results suggest that will continue to change over time as well. Among people 18 to 44, the portion of people who don’t own ebooks drops to 33 percent. The share is highest among those 65 and over, at 60 percent.