Clinton to Launch on Oprah Before Oprah Winfrey gets to the reissue of IF I DID IT she’ll start the post-Labor Day television season in a more noble vein with a program featuring former president Bill Clinton discussing his book GIVING: How Each of Us Can Change the World, airing on the day the book releases, September 4. (The book is said to include comments from Winfrey about her Angel Network and the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls.) Knopf spokesman Paul Bogaards says that the book is a compelling call to do something on behalf of others, saying “you […]

Quarto Buys MBI The Quarto Group has been aiming for another US acquisition for a while now, and yesterday they announced the purchase of St. Paul-based Motor Books International (MBI). Quarto’s Massachusetts-based Quayside Publishing Group, led by president and ceo Ken Fund, will oversee MBI’s operations, including the “core” imprints Motor Books, Voyageur Press and Zenith Press and the company’s distribution operation. MBI’s ceo Randy Roland “will leave the company to pursue new interests.” The purchase price was not disclosed, but Quarto says MBI’s sales are $35 million. The company issues over 200 new books a year, and has a […]

It’s Official: Summer is Over With Labor Day still a week away, the media has nonetheless given up on summer and moved into that transitional season formally known as “Fall Preview.” (Filing stories before the holiday often allows the reporters themselves to go on vacation.) NY Magazine’s Fall Preview issue mentions dozens of books, though the posted versions are strung out over 10 links (perhaps giving the impression of more verbiage than actually provided.) The primary recommended/featured books are: — Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, “worth the long, long wait.” (Separately, Amazon’s Brad Parsons recently dubbed […]

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 Mystery/Crime Colin Cotterill’s sixth and seventh “Dr. Siri” novels, featuring the septuagenarian […]

Ebadi Sued by Co-Author Over Cancelled Book 2003 Nobel Peace Prize winner and author Shirin Ebadi was sued for $1.3 million by Shahir Shahidsaless, who was to be her co-author for A USEFUL ENEMY. Reuters reports that the suit says “Ebadi’s literary agent and her publisher, Random House, recommended that she pull out of the deal out of concern that it would damage future sales of her other books.” They add the papers contend “Shahidsaless had wasted 1-1/2 years working on the book because it would not sell without Ebadi’s famed reputation as a lawyer and rights activist.” Reuters Mother […]

Book Chain Report Cards Look Good This morning Barnes & Noble reported second quarter sales of $1.2 billion and net earnings of $18.1 million — or .26 a share including non-recurring “special items,” and .12 a share on a regular basis, matching analysts’ expectations and coming in at the high end of their guidance. Same-store sales without accounting for the new Harry Potter book were still up 1 percent, and BN.com was up 7.3 percent on the same basis. Through August 4, the chain sold 1.7 million copies of THE DEATHLY HALLOWS in stores and another 400,000 copies online. Bookstore […]