Just five years ago it was almost unheard of for a publisher to have an in-house speakers bureau. Now all of the Big Six houses – Hachette was the last holdout, but they partnered with the Greater Talent Network to form a speakers bureau in May. And Publishing Perspectives discovers they are “turning out to be surprisingly recession-resilient” what with publishers and authors splitting speaking fees between $5000 and $20,000. “representing a welcome source of found money,” even in the midst of an economic downturn. Ellis Trevor, who runs Macmillan Speakers, looks beyond the fees and points to bureaus acting […]
Book Proposals: McGinniss on Palin; Usain Bolt Biography
Now a client of Dave Larabell of the David Black Agency (after leaving behind David Vigliano, Sterling Lord, Dennis Holahan and Mort Janklow), Joe McGinniss hopes to turn his cover story on Sarah Palin for the now-defunct Portfolio magazine into a book.NYO Representatives for Usain Bolt, world-record holder and Olympic Champion in the 100m and 200m sprints, are in talks with unnamed publishers about a possible biography.AP
People and Announcements
Rowland White has joined Orion to set up a new imprint, as yet untitled, which will publish 12 books per year beginning in 2011. Previously he was at Penguin/Michael Joseph, where he was the publishing director for non-fiction. Kate Gunning has been named key accounts manager for independents for Random House, effective September 7. Previously she was head buyer at Foyles. A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick has won the Book of the Year award from the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association. The SoCal Independent Booksellers Association has announced the shortlists for its annual awards in several categories, including fiction, […]
Lunch Weekly for Monday, August 24
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 Debut Michael Salvatore’s BETWEEN BOYFRIENDS, pitched as a gay Sex and The […]
Borders Posts Larger-than-Expected Q2 Loss After After-Tax Charges
Analysts had exercised caution about second quarter results for Borders, pointing to increased stock prices and much shuffling among the management, but the released results point to Borders still losing money, even having more or less eliminated capital expenditures entirely this year. Consolidated sales were $616.8 million, down 17.7% from a year ago. On an operating basis, Borders Group generated a second quarter loss of $12.7 million, compared to a loss of $10.5 million for the same period last year. On a GAAP basis, the second quarter loss was $45.6 million, compared to $11.3 million a year ago. The second […]
Borders Earnings Preview is Somewhat Neutral
Borders is set to report its quarterly earnings later today and analysts aren’t expecting much in the way of good news, considering the retailer has spent much of the year reshuffling management and facing “intense competition” from other retailers. One analyst pointed to Borders’ inability to keep pace on selling electronic books, but added “it could not reasonably have been expected to invest in an alternative given its financial distress.” Still, stock prices, which have risen 33 percent since May 3, are “mostly undervalued” based on high-term cash flow.Earnings Preview