F+W Media, the publishing company focused on core enthusiast communities, is launching a two-day conference focused on “the radically changing commercial environment for consumer book publishers and their trading partners” next January 26 and 27 in New York at the Sheraton. Consultant, entrepreneur and longtime analyst of digital change Mike Shatzkin is leading the programming as conference chair, and he has recruited an advisory board that includes Richard Curtis, Jeff Gomez, Ami Greko, Mark Gompertz, John Ingram, Maja Thomas, Tom Turvey, and many others. Envisioned as an event by, of and for trade publishers, the new conference’s goal is to […]
In Conversation: Friedman and Kirshbaum
Samantha Ettus has an hour-long video with Jane Friedman and Larry Kirshbaum posted on her internet interview site Obsessed. Friedman remains optimistic about book publishing in general, but is bearish on the prospects for the biggest trade publishers (“the large publishers, which we’re now calling ‘legacy publishers'”) with their oversized cost structure: “The question is what will happen to the giant companies that are hurting very, very badly now. Can they come back? Can they reinvent themselves? In my opinion that would be very difficult, because there’s too much history and there’s too much overhead.” She also notes, “You’ve got […]
VSS Sees Books Faring Better than Other Traditional Media
Private equity firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson has released their annual media forecasts. They say that 2008 marks “the first time consumers spent more time with media they paid for, like books or cable television, than with primarily ad-supported media, like newspapers and magazines.” Among traditional media businesses, VSS sees book publishing holding on better than most: “newspapers, consumer magazines, TV and radio are shrinking and will not, in that period of time, get back to what they saw before,” evp James P. Rutherfurd tells the NYT. But John Suhler adds, “these businesses are going to be around for many, many […]
Bookselling: Borders Adds More Toys, Details Other Kids' Changes
Borders has issued a press release covering a number of their expansions in children’s product lines. Today they say they have “greatly expanded toy and game offerings in its more than 500 superstores.” In addition to the previously reported expansion of Borders Ink Teen Shops (special boutique-like sections within most Borders superstores that feature Young Adult as well as Graphic Novel and Manga titles along with a number of other trendy products), the retailer has added a “picture book feature wall to make shopping easier for parents” and has “moved books for independent readers — kids ages 8 through 12” […]
People and Announcements
The PEN American Center has named Steven Isenberg as executive director. For the past six years, he was a visiting professor of humanities at the University of Texas, Austin). His many previous positions include stints as publisher of New York Newsday, evp of the Los Angeles Times, and chief of staff to New York Mayor John Lindsay. Release Susannah McFarlane, former co-owner, managing direct and publisher of Hardie Grant Egmont in Australia has launched a new company, Lemonfizz Media. She will “focus on fully developing a small number of publishing projects that we are passionate about and really investing in […]
Library Groups Endorse Google Settlement; Ask DOJ to Join Court In Monitoring Implementation
The American Library Association (ALA), the Association of College and Research Libraries, and the Association of Research Libraries have reiterated their basic support for the proposed Google Books settlement, while also repeating concerns that the settlement live up to its promises in balancing market pricing and broad access when selling institutional subscriptions. (They note that “The likely demand among academic libraries for an institutional subscription is high.”) In a letter to the Department of Justice’s anti-trust division–following meetings with them as part of their investigation–the associations write “we believe that the Division itself should take a proactive role in the […]