Random Merriment It’s year-end letter time, as Random House CEO Peter Olson announces the company is “well positioned for fiscal year 2005 to exceed both our sales and our operating results for 2004.” Probably the most important news in the dispatch is the celebration of “our lowest-ever overall return percentage rate.” (Spokesman Stuart Applebaum says they aren’t ready to announce the returns number, but says “We’re beyond the Holy Grail of under 30 percent.”) We’ve spoken often about back-end operating efficiencies as the true key to profitability and performance at the big houses, and Olson once again gives the “highest […]

Harper to Build Digital Warehouse HarperCollins issued a press release this morning announcing a plan to create a digital warehouse “for all of its content.” The house says “The plan is the first step in satisfying the demands of the marketplace, which is increasingly requiring that content be made available online and in numerous formats, while allowing the publisher to remain in control of its digital files and intellectual property.” CEO Jane Friedman adds, “We are putting our digital house in order so that we are prepared to offer consumers book content in new ways and with a variety of […]

Monday, December 12 FICTION General/Other Co-author with James Patterson of five books (three billed on the jacket) Andrew Gross’s individual debut THE BLUE ZONE, about a young woman on the hunt for her missing father — a successful businessman forced into the Witness Protection Program who has suddenly disappeared — who comes to question who he really is and whether either of them can come out alive, to David Highfill at William Morrow, in a major deal, rumored to be well into seven figures, for three books, for publication beginning in 2007, by Simon Lipskar at Writers House (world). Italian […]

Bertelsmann Seen As Increasingly Likely to Go Public Minority Bertelsmann shareholder Group Bruxelles Lambert has always held the cards in whether or not the private Germany company gets pushed into public equity markets and a Reuters piece cites a source that says the Belgian financiers are likely to play their hand next year. (This was already part of one of the big items we were preparing for our year-end predictions about 2006 as the year of change in ownership.) Reuters adds, “The listing would be one of the largest media listings in the world and has been the subject of […]

Personnel News ICM agent Jud Laghi will join Larry Kirshbaum’s start-up agency LJK Literary Management next week, as the group moves into new offices. Laghi’s projects include this year’s bestselling WHY DO MEN HAVE NIPPLES? In Canada, Penguin has promoted Helen Reeves to commissioning editor, acquiring humor, fiction, YA fiction, entertainment, thrillers, genre fiction and children’s books. Canada Reads Begins Again As the NEA pulls together its Big Read program, Canada is underway with their fifth annual Canada Reads initiative. The shortlist of candidates, to be debated on CBC radio next April until all but one title is voted off […]

Trade Rises At Wiley Domestic professional/trade revenue rose seven percent at Wiley to $95 million in their fiscal second quarter, termed a “solid” period in the company’s release this morning. Technology and business books “performed especially well.” Licensing of rights is also cited as a contributing factor from this segment during the quarter, including a deal with MSN.com’s travel pages with Frommer’s. Net income of $27 million, up only slightly from last year, “was adversely affected by increased interest expense and a higher effective tax rate.” Overall sales for the quarter of $263 million were up six percent from a […]