Bratton’s Books Details are scant, but Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton apparently has two more books in the works, one on management and another on counterterrorism, according to the LA Times. The paper says the news took some city officials by surprise, and “Bratton isn’t talking about details of the books.” LAT For HCI Employees The Deerfield, FL-based publisher Health Communications is without power or telephones and has closed temporarily in the wake of Hurricane Wilma. Editorial director Bret Witter is trying to get in contact with other publishing division employees from an outpost in Atlanta. Witter can […]

Searchable Books: Microsoft is Next This much is clear: More books are going to be searchable in more places on the Internet. Yesterday Microsoft announced a plan to establish MSN Book Search. Set to begin rolling out in beta next year, they aim to gather “content from books, academic materials, periodicals and other print resources.” The initial focus is clearly on materials in the public domain, and to that end Microsoft has joined the Open Content Alliance (OCA) that was announced a few weeks ago, and will pay $5 million to fund the scanning of 150,000 books under the supervision […]

Wallace Leaves Wenner; S&S Moves Bulger to Head New Distribution Client Group Bob Wallace has resigned as head of the Wenner Books line to “pursue other opportunities.” A spokesman says the imprint “is alive and well with a full catalogue for 2006,” though Lloyd Grove cites a Wenner Media “insider” as indicating that “Wallace’s departure probably signals the inevitable demise of the book-publishing division.” Simon & Schuster has created a new distribution client unit to be run by Joe Bulger, who takes the position of vp, client management and business development, reporting to svp of supply chain operations Joe D’Onofrio. […]

On Bertelsmann: More French Stores, and the Unsung Division Bertelsmann will buy France’s Alsatia Group bookstore chain, with 22 stores and sales of $74 million last year. Earlier this year, the company bought independent French chain Privat. In a separate piece, Business Week points out that Bertelsmann’s Arvato division (which current CEO Gunther Thielen used to run) is the company’s second-leading unit in sales and profits. What started as a printing division has grown into a services-based growth engine. One analyst notes, “It’s basically handling customer resource management for big companies, and it’s an enormous contributor to the Bertelsmann group.” […]

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Deal News Among the dozens of new ones: The story of the biggest Amerian marijuana bust to Putnam; THE FRIDAY NIGHT KNITTING CLUB, also to Putnam in a significant deal; a Shakespearean treasure hunt for Dutton; a very good deal at Minotaur for Marcus Sakey’s debut crime novel; Mike Tidwell’s warning that all coastal towns face Katrina-like scenarios, to the Free Press; and of course plenty more. New deals page Deal Reports Just e-mail to deals@PublishersMarketplace.com if you aren’t using the online form linked below. Report a deal using the online form Fair Enough So I’ve been gently teased by […]