Savvy readers will note this headline is lifted from Tim O’Reilly’s wise presentation from a year ago on why “free is more complicated than you think.” There have been a number of interesting posts and discussions online recently about pricing questions, both from the publisher’s perspective (wondering about how to structure successful business models if average ebook prices are significantly lower than print prices and retailers like Amazon no longer subsidize those low prices) and the consumer’s (generally reaffirming that readers believe ebooks are less valuable than print books, come with fewer privileges, and should increasingly cost less). There’s much […]
Vintage Broadens Spanish-Language Publishing
Vintage Español has announced a significant expansion through a co-publishing agreement with their parent company’s co-venture Random House Mondadori. Starting this fall, Vintage will reissue approximately 50 of RH Mondadori’s bestselling backlist titles, including all of the Spanish-language editions of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s work, along with works by such authors as Pablo Neruda, Federico GarcÃa Lorca, Ken Follett, John Grisham, Cormac McCarthy, and Mary Higgins Clark. Vintage will also publish 15 new frontlist titles in Spanish (mostly in paperback) annually as part of the initiative. The program is being directed by Vintage Espanol publishing director Milena Alberti and overseen by […]
Starbucks to Feature Actress's Memoir
Actress Isabel Gillies’s HAPPENS EVERY DAY: An All-Too-True Story, will be the next book featured in 7,000 Starbucks locations across the US. Known for playing Detective Stabler’s wife on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Gillies memoir is about “coming to terms with the collapse of her marriage.’ Starbucks will carry the book as of March 24, Scribner’s publication date. Thus far, after seven titles so far, the “Starbucks effect” remains vague. The coffee chain certainly sells plenty of copies through it own outlets, but that does not always correlate to broader trade sales. Their most successful “discovery” was clearly […]
Lunch Weekly for Monday, February 23
Deal Reports Just e-mail to deals@PublishersMarketplace if you aren’t using the online form linked below. Report a deal using the online form The Key As usual, the handy key to our Lunch deal categories. While all reports are always welcome, those that include a category will generally receive a higher listing when it comes time to put them all together. “nice deal” $1 – $49,000 “very nice deal” $50,000 – $99,000 “good deal” $100,000 – $250,000 “significant deal” $251,000 – $499,000 “major deal” $500,000 and up FICTION Debut Liza Campbell’s MEASURE ME AGAINST THE SKY, in which a young […]
Condit Ready to Tell His Story
The confirmation of the possible pending arrest of Ingmar Guandique–already in federal custody in California–for the murder of Congressional intern Chandra Levy eight years ago has put former California congressman Gary Condit back in the news. And agent Rachelle Gardner at WordServe Literary (rachelle@wordserveliterary.com) is submitting a book proposal by Condit to publishers this week. According to Gardner, Condit promises to reveal “the reason he has stayed silent and never spoken out on his own behalf in eight years” and to detail “what really happened between himself and Ms. Levy” (he previously admitted having a relationship with her). He also […]
Announcements
Encounter Books will move sales and distribution from NBN to Perseus Distribution as of August 1. Publisher Roger Kimball notes in the announcement, “Encounter has been seeking to raise its profile and discover effective new avenues to bring its wares to a broader audience…. Their combination of enthusiasm and pragmatism is as refreshing as it is rare.” Simon & Schuster has launched a 365 Crosswords puzzle app on the Apple App Store, selling for $4.99. Penguin’s new “especial” on sale tomorrow is Nalini Singh’s novella ANGELS’ PAWN (angels and vampires together in one package), a prequel to her new Guild […]