This time last year Canadian publishers and retailers were grappling with consumer anger over higher Canadian prices for books after the US dollar hit historic lows against the country’s currency. Discounts were applied at all levels (in part to keep sales from crossing the border to US retailers and suppliers) and for 2009 most major publishers repriced their books to be near or equal to US pricing. But it was what you would call a “good problem,” helping Canadian divisions of the big publishing conglomerates to produce another year of strong financial results. But now, in just under a month’s […]
Quarto Remains Confident
After reporting a loss three months ago, the Quarto Group says that sales for their fiscal third quarter were 34.9 million pounds, well ahead of last year (when they acquired MBI) but growing at a slower rate than in the first two quarters of year. They now say operating profit for the nine months of this fiscal year are 6.2 million pounds, up 15 percent from a year ago. (Interest on borrowings to acquire MBI reduces those profits by 2.7 million pounds.) CEO Laurence Orbach says “We remain on the lookout for growth opportunities.” The company cites a “very strong […]
Bolano's Other Publisher
As Andrew Wylie prepares to take over the Roberto Bolano estate and sell newly “discovered” works (per the story we cited earlier), the Observer visits with New Directions editor-in-chief Barbara Epler, who first published Bolano in the US. She originally acquired BY NIGHT IN CHILE from Christopher MacLehose at Harvill Press, along with two other books–and then went on to acquire rights to all but the “major” works, Savage Detectives and the forthcoming 2666 from agent Carmen Balcells. In all New Directions controls “seven short novels, two books of short stories, an essay collection and a volume of poetry called […]
People
David Moldawer has joined Portfolio as an editor, reporting to publisher Adrian Zackheim, acquiring business titles with a special focus on the Internet and new media, creativity, productivity, management and leadership, and marketing. He was at St. Martin’s. Packager Carter Smith died suddenly at home on October 7. In 1970, he founded Media Projects, one of the first independent book production companies in the US, which he ran for 30 years. In 1980, he helped found the American Book Producers Association, and served as its first president.Notice Erik Riesenberg has been promoted to Random House national accounts manager for Baker […]
Amazon UK Features Harper's Victoria Barnsley
Right there on their home page. The letter offers “an exclusive peek” at her “pick of the year.” And she picks what Oprah picked: David Wrobleski’s The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. And in other Amazon news, the company has acquired electronic game developer Reflexive Games, for undisclosed terms.
Canseco Expresses Regret
After two books worth of milking his steroid accusations (one successful; the second, less so), former baseball player Jose Canseco now says in an A&E documentary he “regrets mentioning players [as steroid users]. I never realized this was going to blow up and hurt so many people.” Oddly, in this ESPN write-up, Canseco says he would “apologize” to the baseball players named in his first book (Mark McGwire and others)–most of whom continue to be suspected or confirmed as one-time steroid users–but there’s no mention of players like Alex Rodriguez, accused in the more thinly-grounded second book JUICED. More to […]