More Bad Holiday News Two of the three big chains reported bad sales for the nine-week stretch through December 30: Barnes & Noble termed it “somewhat disappointing sales for the season in a highly promotional and competitive environment,” with comparable store sales slipping 0.1 percent at the superstores at $1.1 billion overall (putting them down 0.3 percent on a comp basis for the 48-week period, at $4.1 billion). BN.com sales rose 2.7 percent to $108.5 million for the holidays, but are still down 2.4 percent from a year ago for 48 weeks, at $376 million. B. Dalton, an increasingly small […]

Deal News Among nearly 30 new deals just from yesterday: Douglas Brinkley’s biography of Walter Cronkite, to Harper; a former Defense Intelligence Agency analyst on our “still broken” intelligence agencies post 9/11, to Presidio; the capture of an ecstasy kingpin and his lieutenants, through the agencies in seven countries, for Ballantine; two books from Katherine Weber to Harmony; and of course many more. All the deals 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 More Schedule Notes We’re back, though with the kids still off from […]

AMS Files for Voluntary Bankruptcy Unable to secure new ongoing financing and with its previous loan facility expiring, troubled Advanced Marketing Services (AMS) filed a voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition yesterday. As part of the filing, the company has in place $75 million in debtor-in-possession financing from Wells Fargo Foothill, subject to the bankruptcy court’s approval. The same lender has been the provider of AMS’s previous loan and security agreements. AMS notes in their announcement that they “explored a number of alternatives to strengthen the Company’s financial base and resolve past legal and regulatory issues.” CEO Gary Rautenstrauch says, “This […]

Briefs For CEOs still in need of some year-end remarks to share with employees, Macmillian head Richard Charkin has crafted an all-purpose address: “It’s been a great year for us in spite of a number of market difficulties. Underlying sales and profits are at record highs (allowing for exchange differences, changes in GAAP, varying retail distribution criteria, enhanced accounting practices for advances and stock, intercompany tax movements,etc). Our competitors are struggling with the market conditions but we’ve managed to find solutions while maintaining our commitment to the highest standards of integrity and caring.…” Click through for the rest. Charkin News […]

Schedule Notes This is the part where we’re supposed to explain our holiday schedule, except that we never really know what our publication habits will be like for the next couple of weeks. Some things are certain: we’ll have a weekly deal round-up coming soon as usual, and PublishersMarketplace.com remains live all the time — with news postings as warranted, deal reports, job listings, and all of our other features. Nightly deal e-mails will depend on the flow of reports. There will be not be daily Lunches, but there will surely be at least occasional Lunches, following the news cycle […]

Harry Has A Name J.K . Rowling announced today on her website the title of her still undelivered 7th book: HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS. More Lists USA Today does “something unusual by choosing a novel that was published last year as our Book of the Year”: The Memory Keeper’s Daughter, by Kim Edwards. The rest of their category favorites: Fiction: All Aunt Hagar’s Children, by Edward P. Jones Non-fiction: Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq, by Thomas E. Ricks Biography: Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination, by Neal Gabler Debut novel: The Last Town on […]