Following the reported drops at WH Smith earlier this month, Waterstone’s parent HMV has reported that same-store sales declined by 4.5 percent in the last 16 weeks of their fiscal year, ending, April 25 (and 3.5 percent overall in that period.) For the full year, both comp sales and overall sales fell 3.8 percent at the bookseller. The company did not report actual sales today, but Waterstone’s has sales of 564 million pounds last year, so presumably this year’s sales are approximately 542.6 million pounds. The Bookseller says that layoffs have been discussed at the store level in recent weeks, […]
Justice Department Looking at Antitrust Implications of Google Settlement
It’s been pretty grey whether the judge presiding over the settlement of the Google Book Search settlement would have any compelling interest in the potential virtual monopoly that Google would be granted over electronic rights to orphan works, but now the Justice Department has opened an inquiry. The NYT says Justice notified the parties to the settlement “that they were investigating various antitrust issues related to the far-reaching agreement.” The paper adds, “The inquiry does not necessarily mean that the department will oppose the settlement, which is subject to a court review. But it suggests that some of the concerns […]
People and Notes
Liza Pulitzer Voges has opened the literary agency Eden Street representing authors and illustrators of children’s books. She was previously at Kirchoff Wohlberg for 25 years where she created and managed their literary department. At Dystel & Goderich Literary Management, Jim McCarthy, has been promoted to senior agent. Chasya Milgrom, who has been with the agency for over three years, has been promoted to royalties manager and agent. The Observer says it has been resolved that the head of Endeavor’s book department Richard Abate will not stay on as part of the merged William Morris Endeavor Entertainment. They say “the […]
Judge Extends Google Settlement Deadlines by Four Months
Judge Denny Chin postponed the key dates for the settlement agreement in the Google Book Search case by fourth months. The deadline to opt-out of the settlement entirely is extended to September 4, as is the deadline for objections and amicus briefs. The fairness hearing will be held on October 7. A new party has entered the scene as well. Yesterday a group of academic authors represented by Pamela Samuelson at the Berkeley School of Law had requested a six-month extension of the deadlines.
Book Fairs: Musicians for BEA, No More CBE
Thursday night’s opening events at this year’s BEA will include a session at the end of the day in the Special Events hall featuring Chuck Klosterman interviewing musicians-turned-authors Steven Tyler and Clarence Clemmons. Separately, the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association board decided that they will not hold another Christian Book Expo after an underwhelming inaugural show this year in Dallas. And members are being asked to make voluntary contributions to help fill a $250,000 shortfall left from the March event.Christian Retailing
Amazon's Next Purchase: Stanza
Amazon has bought Lexcyle, makers of the Stanza reader application, for an undisclosed price. Stanza has been downloaded by approximately 1.8 million users. Lexcycle says on its web site, “We are not planning any changes in the Stanza application or user experience as a result of the acquisition. Customers will still be able to browse, buy, and read ebooks from our many content partners.” But of course it’s now up to what Amazon plans. When launching their iPhone app for Kindle, Amazon made it clear that they find the iPhone an inferior platform for long-form immersive reading, but fine as […]