Bonds Drops Suit Against Authors Barry Bonds asked the court to dismiss his suit against authors Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams and Gotham Books on June 2, the San Jose Mercury News reports. The paper says “he took the action because the reporters — Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams — have been subpoenaed by a grand jury investigating who leaked transcripts of the testimony.… Bonds wanted whoever leaked the documents to be held accountable, the player’s attorney Michael Rains said Saturday.” So far, though, the reporters have indicated they will not comply with that subpoena. Mercury News News Briefs Houghton […]

Monday, June 12 Our Usual Reminder If for some reason this has reached you even though you are not a paying member of PublishersMarketplace, please visit the link below to join us all the time for complete deal reports and more. Click to register http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/register.shtml 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 […]

Schedule Please note, there will be no regular Lunch served tomorrow, since I’ll be speaking at a conference in Toronto associated with BEA Canada. As always, news items will be posted to PublishersMarketplace as we’re able, and all other site activities — deal reports, jobs, etc. — will continue at full steam. Borders Cuts Corporate Staff Following yesterday’s earnings restatement, Borders said they were cutting 90 jobs, primarily from their Ann Arbors headquarters, representing about 6 percent of corporate staff. Spokesperson Ann Roman said, “Looking at our five-year plan, it is clear that corporate costs require adjustment at this time.” […]

Borders Announces Higher Loss Borders said this morning that the company has “corrected an error in the calculation of gross margin within its International segment, specifically in the Books etc. division.” While the error relates primarily to fiscal 2005 results, the additional loss will be reflected in their first quarter filing for 2006. The previously announced loss of 29 cents per share will be restated to 31 cents a share, adding about $1.3 million to the quarter’s already high $18.9 million loss. Release Zadie Smith Breaks Favorite Jinx, Takes Orange The third nomination is the charm, as Smith wins the […]

Turner’s Next Mort Janklow is auctioning Ted Turner’s memoir. As ever, the Post is bidding big. NYP Greenspan Picks Helper Alan Greenspan has chosen Fortune magazine editor-at-large Peter Petre as the collaborator for his book. Petre has also worked on books by General Norman Schwarzkopf and Thomas Watson Jr., both published in the early 90s. NYT Orange Looms The Orange Prize will be awarded later today. Zadie Smith is the bookie’s choice for ON BEAUTY (it’s her third time on the shortlist). Going by past results, as the favorite, she is the least likely person to actually win. Reuters Baldwin’s […]

Clustering Paperbacks This weekend the WSJ took up the theme of publishing novels as paperback originals — with a particular focus on authors who are writing multiple books that are released in quick succession. In the case of James Swain, he moved from hardcovers to mass market originals, with Deadman’s Poker and Deadman’s Bluff released just five weeks apart. (Though his next book, JACKPOT, for 2007, will be a hardcover.) Ballantine has pursued the same quick release strategy with original trilogies from Mariah Stewart and Naomi Novik recently, and Pocket published three books from Liz Carlyle with just four months […]