In a brief trading update, Reed Elsevier management had this to say about the sale of their b-t-b inesmagaz: “The process of divestment of Reed Business Information is at an advanced stage although in the present economic and credit environment a satisfactory outcome cannot be certain. As part of the process, a consortium of financing banks are in discussions with a small number of prospective buyers to provide financing. Reed Elsevier has indicated a willingness to provide financing support for any successful bid.” They also noted: “The performance of the magazine and information business has held up well during the […]
eNews: Stats on King's Video Promo; Google Previews at Borders;
Simon & Schuster says their 25 promotional short graphic-video episodes based on Stephen King’s short story “N” were viewed over one million times online and via mobile phones. The company declined to break out sales via iTunes, but spokesman Adam Rothberg says “the downloads and revenues were a very healthy number that exceeded our expectations, especially given that it was also available for free.” He also indicates that promotion produced “higher” pre-orders for the just-released book JUST AFTER SUNSET. Scribner printed “about 20,000” copies of a higher-priced collectors set that includes all of the video episodes on DVD, “which is […]
Meryl Streep to Play Dewey Author
A film version of Vicki Myron’s bestselling DEWEY: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World will feature Meryl Streep as the author. Producers Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey at Temple Hill Entertainment partners will make the move with New Line. (The production company is also responsible for the movie adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s Twlight.)Variety
WH Smith Sales Slide
British-based retailer WH Smith issued a short trading update for September 1 through November, when same-store High Street sales fell 4 percent. They added: “Whilst we remain cautious about the consumer environment and anticipate competitive trading in our markets over the key Christmas period, we have planned accordingly, and the current financial year has started as we expected.” In other UK financials, sales at Canongate for calendar 2007 declined almost 4 percent, down to 7.8 million pounds from 8.1 million the year before, while pre-tax profits fell sharply to 271,000 pounds, 60 percent decline from the year before. The company’s […]
Giller to Boyden
Joseph Boyden won Canada’s Giller Prize for his second novel THROUGH BLACK SPRUCE, after having been favored to win the award three years ago for his debut, THREE DAY ROAD. Juror Margaret Atwood praised the book “for its spare prose style that ranges from lyrical to brutal … and that shows us unforgettable characters and a northern landscape in a way we have never seen before.” Viking has the book scheduled for March 2009 release in the US. Mary Swan’s THE BOYS IN THE TREES had been the “overwhelming” favorite in the Guess the Giller contest, run through 30 public […]
PEN USA Award Winners
Pen USA announced their literary award winners, including: Fiction Daniel Alarcon, Lost City Radio Creative Nonfiction Julia Whitty, The Fragile Edge Research Nonfiction William Vollman, Poor People Poetry Juan Felipe Herrera, 187 Reasons Mexicanos Can’t Cross the Border Children’s Literature Ron Koertge, Strays Translation Donald Revell, A Season in Hell by Arthur Rimbaud PEN