Calling it “the big surprise” (if they do say so themselves)–and pretty much confirming the importance of those pre-publication deliberations on issuing a simultaneous ebook edition–Amazon makes this report by e-mail to the WSJ. Of course the pre-orders were significant, so that exclusion is a big one. Also, Doubleday clarified yesterday afternoon that they sold over 1 million units–print and electronic–in the book’s first day on sale. Separately, while Twelve declined to quantify opening results for Ted Kennedy’s TRUE COMPASS, spokesman Cary Goldstein says “our opening day reports have unquestionably exceeded expectations.”
Shortlists and More
The FT/Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year shortlist was announced, comprising: Lords of Finance, by Liaquat AhamedGood Value, by Stephen GreenImagining India, by Nandan NilekaniThe Match King, by Frank PartnoyAnimal Spirits, by George Akerlof and Robert ShillerIn Fed We Trust, by David Wessel The winner will be named October 29. And the Center for Fiction (formerly the Mercantile Center) announced the shortlist for their first novel prize (formerly the John Sargent Sr. prize): American Rust, by Philipp MeyerThe Cradle, by Patrick SomervilleTinkers, by Paul HardingThe Vagrants, by Yiyun LinWoodsburner, by John Pipkin Also, nature-reference publisher Waterford Press will move […]
Record Breakers: Lost Symbols Moves More than 1 Million Copies and Doubleday Goes Back to Press
By late afternoon yesterday Barnes & Noble was ready to exult that Dan Brown’s THE LOST SYMBOL had set a new one-day sales record for adult fiction at the chain (without specifying which book held the previous record, or quantifying the new record). It also set a new mark for adult fiction pre-orders and perhaps most importantly, “the company said that sales for the book were exceeding expectations.”Release In the UK, Waterstone’s fiction buyer Simon Burke reported similarly unquantified but record-breaking results to The Bookseller: “We have seen phenomenal sales for the new Dan Brown. The Lost Symbol is Waterstone’s […]
People: Kubek Leaves Borders; NBF to Honor Vidal and Eggers; and More
Anne Kubek–one of the few high-level veterans of the chain to survive the various management changes–is leaving the company. (She joined Borders Group in 1990, and was promoted to her current position of evp of merchandising and marketing in January when new ceo Ron Marshall first took over.) Michael J. Edwards has been named vp, chief merchandising officer “responsible for developing and executing merchandising and marketing strategies to drive sales and profit as Borders works to re-engage with customers as a bookseller for serious readers.” He’ll draw on his previous experience as ceo of Ellington Leather, a Portland, OR-based leather […]
Business Briefs: Quercus Still Losing Money; Hachette Can't Sell Chambers Harrap; MacAdam/Cage Hopes Money Troubles Will Ease by November
Riding a strong run for Stieg Larsson, the UK’s Quercus said sales for the first six months were up by more than 50 percent to 5.55 million pounds–but they still lost over 260,000 pounds. Chief executive Mark Smith tells the Bookseller they are almost paying authors on time now: “We’re pretty much there with catching up with [the agents]. We have made great headway in dealing with that issue.”Report Also in the UK, after failing to sell dictionary line Chambers Harrap, Hachette is closing the units Edinburgh office and eliminate up to 27 jobs, the Bookseller reports. They will merge […]
Brown Thanks Maslin
At a launch party in New York last night for THE LOST SYMBOL, Dan Brown was lavish in his thanks to all the departments at Knopf Doubleday and throughout Random House that engineered the 5-million-copy laydown of the new book. (“Let’s hope we never see them again,” he quipped.) As he noted at the beginning of his remarks, “I realize technically we’ve only published one book together–so far, so good.” For anyone who thought the publisher might be miffed by the New York Times’ early review of the new book, Brown added to his thank-you list “a woman I’ve never […]