Direct Brands, whose properties include the Bookspan book clubs, has named Deborah Fine as president and ceo. Fine had been president of iVillage Properties until late last year, after serving as ceo of Victoria’s Secret PINK. She takes over from Stuart Goldfarb, who resigned earlier this month. As Fine told the WSJ, “This is a business primed to be reinvented. It’s also safe to say we need to evolve online.” Fine explained further to us: “This business possesses five valuable currencies: content, channel, customer, commerce and community, which present significant opportunities to leverage them in new ways, with new tools, […]
Borders to Offer Free Wi-Fi, Too
Matching the recent rollout from AT&T at Barnes & Noble stores, Borders will provide “virtually all of its more than 500 Borders stores” with free wi-fi from Verizon, “expected to be available by mid-October.” Users will start with a promotional Borders splash page.
Palin Goin' Early
Sarah Palin completed her manuscript ahead of schedule after working with collaborator Lynn Vincent and Harper has moved up the release date from next spring to November 17. The publisher has announced a planned 1.5 million-copy first printing of GOING ROGUE: An American Life. They will not make an e-book available until December 26, the AP reports, in order “to maximize hardcover sales over the holidays” according to spokesperson Tina Andreadis.AP
New Ventures: Online Book Subscription from Disney; Books From The Beast
Disney Publishing has launched a subscription-based web site that will present a broad catalog starting with about 500 electronic children’s books for readers ages 3 to 13. DisneyDigitalBooks.com is priced at $8.95 per month (or $79.95 annually), and offers a few free books for trial with registration. Disney Publishing president Russell Hampton tells the NYT, “We want to make reading an even bigger deal in a kid’s life, and if we can do that in a new and interactive way — great.” The paper says “a huge marketing effort will set about drilling the site into the public consciousness,” including […]
More eNews: Sony Reader Partners with Author Solutions and Smashwords to Open Platform to Self- and Small-Publishers
Sony has launched a Publisher Portal making their Reader eBook Store available to those who publish through ebook site Smashwords and self-publisher Author Solutions. Sony Portal
People
Rebecca Gardner is joining The Gernert Company as its rights director. She was most recently vp and director of sub rights at the Random House Publishing Group. Kensington editor Kate Duffy, 56, died recently after a long illness. Among the many honors she received, Duffy won the Romance Writers of America’s inaugural Industry Award in 1991. Her long career as a romance editor included serving as founding editor of Silhouette Books and founder of Harlequin’s Worldwide Library imprint and Pocket’s Tapestry Books, while at Kensington she established Brava Books. A memorial service will be scheduled soon.