A little like Warner’s launch of Jack Welch’s first book right after 9/11, Bantam faces uncertainty as their expensive authorized biography of legendary investor Warren Buffett releases next Monday in the midst of what Buffett himself calls an “economic Pearl Harbor.” Will current conditions make readers hungrier than ever for insights into one of the greatest investors ever, or leave them with no appetite for personal details about one of the world’s richest men? Time magazine appears to have had the first official look at the book, which they say “reveals that in his personal life, the Oracle of Omaha […]
Bloomsbury Buys Berg
Bloomsbury has made another addition to its growing academic division with the purchase of Oxford International Publishers Limited, which operates as Berg Publishers, for 1.8 million pounds in cash, 200,000 million pounds in stock, and up to 1 million pounds in deferred compensation based performance. Focused on books and journals for the academic student market in the fields of fashion, design and culture studies, Berg had sales 1.58 million pounds in 2007. Kathryn Earle will continue to run the company.Release
Another In-House Media Studio
Similar to the HarperCollins facility, Simon & Schuster has announced the creation of an in-house digital production studio to create multimedia content about their authors and books of the fourth floor of the company’s New York offices. Charlie Corts is their director, video production and development, recording and editing the author interviews. He has worked in digital production at Yahoo! and CBS Interactive. S&S says they expect to produce and post more than 600 pieces of multimedia content annually.
How Godin Leads His Tribe
With the release of his latest marketing book, TRIBES, “a 147-page, anecdote-filled call to readers to become leaders of a movement,” BusinessWeek profiles the energetic author and the tribe of readers who follow him–even when academicians “tut tut” at his work. “Godin’s secret to resonating with such diverse readers: He has mastered marketing in the Digital Age. His blog and books invite readers to join his e-mail list, through which he lets them know about new publications or workshops. He offers free e-books–Unleashing the Ideavirus was downloaded 2 million times before it was published. Between books, he also spreads his […]
Virgin Comics Sold to Management; Minx Closes
They weren’t just closing the New York office as reported last month, but rather Virgin sold their interest in their comics joint venture to management, which has renamed the company Liquid Comics. Variety notes: “The brand was stymied by low sales of its comicbooks, which were short on major names in the comicbook biz (with the exception of writer Garth Ennis) and sported concepts centered mostly around Indian mythology and thus struggled to find readers in the US…. Liquid didn’t comment on plans to actually continue publishing comicbooks, instead opting to focus on digital versions of its various characters.”Variety The […]
Patrick Ness Wins Guardian Children's Prize
Patrick Ness’s YA novel THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO, “about a world where thoughts are audible,” won the Guardian’s children’s book award. The judges praised the “breathtaking quality” of the writing. “It’s challenging but not bleak – an excitingly different book.”Guardian