Following recent distribution arrangements with Barnes & Noble.com and Shortcovers, Smashwords has now added an agreement with Amazon’s Kindle store, with titles expected to appear there “sometime in December.” Smashwords says that their self-published authors and small publishers will receive 42.5 percent of the creator-set digital list price for Amazon sales, “higher than what many ebook authors can receive on their own if they publish direct with Amazon.”Release
Looming Nielsen Magazine Sale Could Include Book Publications
Though the report of a sale of the Hollywood Reporter, Billboard and other titles owned by Nielsen Business Media was not announced Friday as The Wrap had originally reported, Paid Content has found additional sources to confirm the basic story of a pending sale to News Communications and other investors. Run by James Finkelstein, NC owns The Hill and Who’s Who among other publications. Paid Content says the sale “is about two weeks away.” By their account, Nielsen will sell nearly all of the magazine and online properties, retaining their trade show division and properties in some “international territories” though […]
With No Buyer Yet, Concern Over the Fate of Borders UK
Concerns about the fate of Borders UK rose over the past few days, as the Times declared Sunday the struggling chain is “on the verge of collapse” after a potential deal with WH Smith fell apart (first reported by Retail Week, and linked here on Friday.) RW had reported that “an alternative buyer of Borders UK is being sought and the retailer is understood to have received several expressions of interest.” Asked for comment by the Guardian, WH Smith “refused to confirm reports that it had pulled out of the deal,” but they too warned the company “appeared to be […]
People
Susan Hobson has been appointed director of international rights at McCormick & Williams Literary Agency. Macmillan Audio has hired Robert Allen as editorial director, effective immediately. Most recently he was a co-founder of Brands-to-Books, after serving as publisher of Random House Audio. A memorial service has been announced for book marketing and sales consultant Jim Sutton, on December 5 at 2:00 pm at Christ Lutheran Church in Baltimore. Sutton, 64, died recently in Germany after suffering a heart attack at the Frankfurt Book Fair. He first made his mark with the launch of Tom Clancy’s career with the publication of […]
Lunch Weekly for Monday, November 23
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 Susan Froderberg’s OLD BORDER ROAD, about a girl who marries too […]
Amazon Files Motion to Irritate Judge Chin
Amazon asked Judge Denny Chin to reverse his recent preliminary approval of the amended Google Books Settlement. They object–again–to a provision that remains the same from the original settlement, in which Google is released from future as well as current liability, which Amazon says makes the settlement unacceptable on its face. So they are really telling the judge that he has already been wrong twice. And they also ask that, even if the judge disagrees with their motion, that he reverse himself and allow a gigantic wave of repeated and expanded objections rather than limiting new filings to objections to […]