Publishers Lunch

WordsWorth in Bankruptcy Filing Cambridge’s renowned independent store WordsWorth Books filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday. Owners Hillel Stavis and his wife Donna Friedman tell the Boston Globe that revenues have plunged, and the store has been losing money for two years. Court filings indicate the store has $1.5 million in debts, and $1 million in inventory and assets. The owners have “poured $500,000 of their personal savings into WordsWorth in recent years.” Annual revenue of about $5 million is half of what the operation did in “better times.” They once had as many as 110 employees, but now […]

Sterling Makes the List Yesterday at about noon, a press release hit the wire from Barnes & Noble celebrating the appearance of Barry Miles’ HIPPIE on the NYT bestseller list at No. 12. Though Sterling has many titles that have sold huge quantities over time (from many hundreds of thousands to millions), this is their first NYT bestseller. Today, the paper of record (which has had access to the September 12 list for some time now) took the bait and went off and running. The only other news in the piece is that BN has “stealthily produced” their own hardcover […]

Results Rise at Random Random House reported revenues for the first six months of the year of $995 million, up 9.5 percent from a year ago, and earnings almost three times higher at nearly $38 million. Bertelsmann’s statement emphasizes Random’s “especially strong sales and profits in the UK and Australia” and an “impressive increase in its operating results” in Germany, along with “an excellent start” for its joint ventures in Asia, “especially in Korea.” In a letter to employees, Random House CEO Peter Olson celebrates the “very good news to share about our excellent financial performance,” in which the company’s […]

Accusations Against Bush from Kelley and Graham Presidential brother Neil Bush’s ex-wife Sharon still hasn’t gotten any of her own book proposals off the ground (the most recent attempt was scrapped earlier this summer) but it would appear she did serve as a source for Kitty Kelley. In the first pre-release bits from THE FAMILY: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty, Sharon is quoted as saying President Bush “did coke at Camp David when his father was president, and not just once either.” Another source says he did the same while serving in the National Guard, when he ”liked […]

More Schedule Notes Here’s a big Lunch, to hold you for a while. There will be no dispatch tomorrow, and very few next week. We will send out the weekly Deals early in the week; that may be the only issue until after Labor Day, though we’ll keep you posted further in the deal mail. Rising Demand for Used Books Sends Powell’s Shopping in Seattle Meanwhile, both Seattle newspapers covered Powell’s Books plans to spend 11 days next month buying used books in Seattle, in a space right across from the University Book Store. Marketing manager Michael Drannen says used […]

More Notes As indicated last week, Lunch will be sporadic this week — there will likely be no servings for at least the next two days. In this jumbo serving you’ll find the week’s deals as well as the regular Monday offerings. Borders Sees Unlimited International Growth As we’ve underscored before, the international division is the growth engine of Borders, and the one place in which they have a clear edge over such rivals as Barnes & Noble. The Ann Arbor News says international CFO Gregg Bodnar thinks they can grow those sales up to $3 billion a year, from […]