Headline publishing director Harriet Evans is leaving her job to focus full-time on writing, with her fourth novel due for publication this fall. Correcting yesterday’s report, Victoria Stapleton‘s promotion at Little, Brown Children’s is to associate director, school and library marketing.
Wimpy Opens Strong
In its first week on sale Jeff Kinney’s DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: THE LAST STRAW recorded sales of approximately 240,000 copies in outlets tracked by Nielsen Bookscan, as publisher Abrams says that first day sale alone “exceeded 100,000 copies” and “first-week sales totaled more than 300,000 copies.” Two reprints comprising 500,000 copies will bring the copies in print up to 1.5 million units. Abrams ceo Michael Jacobs says, “Booksellers of all sizes are thrilled with the popularity of this series, and it’s clear that the huge response…has far exceeded expectations. In this difficult economic climate, with reports of bad […]
Bowker Parent Takes Stake In LibraryThing
LibraryThing has sold a minority interest in the enterprise to Cambridge Information Group, which owns Bowker (as well as AquaBrowser, ProQuest, Serials Solutions and RefWorks). LT’s Tim Spalding writes on his blog that a key factor was “moola.” He notes, “LibraryThing has been profitable for a while, but we didn’t have much of a cushion. It was a nail-biter. We needed servers and new employees, but what if we had a few down months? And did I mention the economy is sick? (Cut to Tim worrying.) The CIG deal frees us from worry and gives us room to grow. While […]
Step One: Palin Hires Barnett
Reuters says that former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has hired attorney Bob Barnett to represent her. Barnett did not comment; nor did Palin’s office. (In early December it was reported that Barnett is representing Obama’s campaign manager, David Plouffe, who is shopping a proposal for THE AUDACITY TO WIN.)Reuters
Time: What Publishing Will Look Like?
Lev Grossman thinks he has big ideas about the evolution of publishing, and the novel in particular: “A lot of headlines and blogs to the contrary, publishing isn’t dying. But it is evolving, and so radically that we may hardly recognize it when it’s done. Literature interprets the world, but it’s also shaped by that world, and we’re living through one of the greatest economic and technological transformations since–well, since the early 18th century. The novel won’t stay the same: it has always been exquisitely sensitive to newness, hence the name. It’s about to renew itself again, into something cheaper, […]
Follett to Drop Adobe, Launch Own Reader
Follett is launching their own ereader software for downloadable versions of books for K-12 users which, depending upon on how you look at it, is a great or terrible idea. Martyn Daniels, for example, approves: “Follet are now taking control of their digital business and channel.” But TeleRead is appalled at the introduction of yet another reader, particularly since it doesn’t seem to work with the ePub standard. Follett is giving their customers between February 9 and March 2 to “download and install the new Follett Digital Reader on all the computers in your system that patrons can use.” And […]