The Authors Guild has posted what executive director Paul Aiken calls “probably the most strongly-worded alert we’ve sent out in years,” about a proposed contract amendment sent by Wiley to Bloomberg Press authors. Calling Wiley’s communication “deceptive,” the Guild’s objections include a proposal to turn list price royalties into net royalties and a POD clause that would “empower Wiley to keep an author’s book in print with a lowball print on demand royalty of 5% of net receipts,” a rate “as low as we’ve seen.”Post
People, Etc.
At Penguin Group USA, Heidi Graynor has been promoted to vp, sales administration. She has been with the company since 1983. At McClelland and Stewart, associate publisher for nonfiction Susan Renouf is retiring from the company as of June 30, though she will resume her consulting and editorial business. Christine Gillespie has been promoted to vp, associate publisher for Knopf, Pantheon and Schocken, continuing to report to Patricia Johnson. Sterling editor Alyssa Smith is reported to have lost her home to a fire in Union City, NJ that consumed three buildings. Rose Fox has a page with information, also seeking […]
Meyer's Bree Tanner Moves Over 350K In Two Days
Little, Brown Children’s says that they sold over 350,000 copies of Stephenie Meyer’s THE SHORT SECOND LIFE OF BREE TANNER in the first 48 hours of sale in the US. They also tabulate that 15,000 people around the world have read the free online version “in its entirety.” (In 2007 her third book ECLIPSE sold an estimated 150,000 copies in its first day; in 2008 the publisher estimated first day says for BREAKING DAWN of 1.3 million copies.) Publisher Megan Tingley says in the announcement “we have every confidence that with the upcoming Eclipse movie release that Bree’s shelf life […]
More iPad (and Wall Street) Numbers
Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty raised her forecast (e.g. “guess”) for iPad sales within 2010 to 10 million units (up from 6 million), and sees a range for the first 12 months of sale of between 13 million and 16 million units. On that basis, Huberty declares the tablet is “on pace to become one of the most popular devices in mobile history.” She concludes that the iPad is already responsible for a drop in netbook sales in April. Huberty also raised her price target on Apple stock to $332 a share (with her most optimistic iPad projections pushing the […]
David Davidar Leaving Penguin to Write; Canada Will Report to Shanks in US
Penguin Canada president and ceo David Davidar, considered to be on the fast-track to upper Penguin management worldwide (and named to the new post of ceo of Penguin International last year, with oversight for Africa, the Middle East and the India sub-continent), is leaving the company and returning to India to write and pursue “other projects.” After his departure, with no firm date announced, the Canadian unit (which had sales of over $100 million recently) will report to Penguin US ceo David Shanks. Canadian spokesperson Yvonne Hunter indicates this will be a permanent realignment, with no new executive to be […]
Reflecting Weak Market, WH Smith Confirms Sales Decline
WH Smith issued a brief trading update for the 14 weeks ending June 5. With the UK book market in general decline, their High Street stores declined 4 percent on a like-for-like basis compared to a year ago. Their travel stores were also down 4 percent overall, which they somehow parsed into 2 percent regular decline and 2 percent volcanic ash decline.