Columbia University Press announced that they will close their warehouse in Irvington, NY this summer, eliminating approximately 25 positions as a result. President and director Jim Jordan says, “Any decision involving job loss is difficult, especially when dedicated staff have served the Press professionally and well for many years. Nevertheless, this is the right direction for the Press, its clients, and authors.” Perseus Distribution will take over fulfillment of the Press’s book. The announcement notes the “restructuring is part of an overall effort to improve print economics while facilitating electronic delivery,” in part through the network of services and partners […]
June Indie Next Picks
Here are next month’s picks from the ABA: The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane: A Novel by Katherine HoweLast Night in Montreal: A Novel by Emily St. John MandelThe Strain by Guillermo Del Toro, Chuck HoganCrazy for the Storm: A Memoir of Survival by Norman OllestadFar Bright Star: A Novel by Robert OlmsteadThe Dark Horse: A Walt Longmire Mystery by Craig JohnsonThe Signal: A Novel by Ron CarlsonThe Earth Hums in B Flat by Mari StrachanInto the Beautiful North: A Novel by Luis Alberto UrreaIn the Sanctuary of Outcasts: A Memoir by Neil WhiteShanghai Girls: A Novel by Lisa SeeThe […]
S&S Reports: Down 20% Is the New Flat?
Simon & Schuster reported sales of $161.7 million for their fiscal first quarter, down 20 percent from $201.6 million a year ago (when the quarter was also down 12 percent in sales and 32 percent in income.) OIBDA evaporated to a slim $100,000, compared to $17.1 million a year ago, with an operating loss of $2.1 million, compared to operating income of $14.6 million a year ago. The company said “these decreases were driven by the revenue decline partially offset by lower expenses resulting from cost-saving initiatives.” CEO Carolyn Reidy says that the quarter started poorly and then improved. “In […]
Early Insights from BISG Conference
A few things to share from the Making Information Pay Conference this morning. Consultant Mike Shatzkin at the Idea Logical Company offered results from a survey and follw-up interviews conducted with 250 publishing people prior to the event looking at how sales channels are shifting in these challenged times. While everyone is seeing brick-and-mortar trade sales fall, there was “some questiona s to whether indies or chains are falling faster.” There was also “widespread agreement that library budgets cuts will affect publishers adversely,” whether or not that has shown up in industry statistic yets. They “did see much more gloom […]
Kindle Klean-Up
A few details following yesterday’s press conference. Pace University has joined the five other universities in Amazon’s higher education pilot program for SuperKindle–and their provost underscored that about 50 students are involved. (That’s thought to be the comparable number at the five other schools.) But that’s almost $150,000 in sales right there. Pace expects to split the cost of the devices with the students. Meanwhile, Dallas Morning News ceo James Moroney explained why so few newspapers (just 37) are available on Kindle and why SuperKindle certainly won’t save them. “Amazon wanted 70 per cent of any subscription revenues his paper […]
Little, Brown Children's Announce Fall Meyer Tie-Ins and Releases
On the one thing that’s still working for sure in the marketplace, the Stephenie Meyer franchise, Little Brown Children’s has announced plans for fall. The last book in the Twilight saga BREAKING DAWN will be released again in a “special edition” version that features an exclusive DVD of the Breaking Dawn Concert Series, a color poster, and other extras, in a “limited” one-time-only printing of one million copies. The trade paperback edition of ECLIPSE (the third in the series) will publish on August 4. The publisher also has a set of four Twilight Journals in a collectible tin for October […]