Apologies After a busy week, it’s a really meager news day. I’m trying not to take it personally, but sorry. At least we have a meaty BlogWatch for you below. Personnel News Scholastic has promoted editorial director of reference and nonfiction Ken Wright, giving him the additional title of associate publisher. His new responsibilities include “overseeing the publishing process, co-ordinating cross-channel communication across Scholastic’s Trade/Clubs/and Fairs and directing Custom Publishing.” Marketing and editorial consultant Jazan Higgins has been hired full-time as vp, publishing director. She will “define the balance and direction of Scholastic’s hardcover publishing, overseeing Scholastic Press, Arthur A. […]

Potter Comparison Pulls Q1 Down at Scholastic, Though Other Trade Sales Improve Scholastic reported a net loss for their first quarter of $50.3 million, up sharply from a loss of $24.8 million a year ago in what is historically their weakest quarter. Revenues fell to $324 million, from $475 million a year ago. Comparisons suffer mightily next to last year’s summer release of “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” which produced approximately $170 million in sales during the quarter. The children’s book division recorded sales of $122 million and an operating loss of $65 million, versus Potter-pumped sales […]

RH and Da Vinci Author Seek to Pre-empt Author Perdue’s Accusations with Suit of Their Own In early September an attorney for author Lewis Perdue told Random House and DA VINCI CODE author Dan Brown that Perdue was preparing to sue for copyright infringement unless a settlement was reached by September 13. As a response, Random House and Brown have filed a pre-emptive suit in a Manhattan District Court, seeking “a declaration that THE DA VINCI CODE does not infringe Perdue’s copyright [in such books as the DA VINCI LEGACY and DAUGHTER OF GOD] or any other interests in his […]

Kirkus for Hire Kirkus Reviews is putting their 71 years worth of “credibility, integrity, and pedigree” up for sale to “self-published, e-published and POD authors. Any publisher seeking greater exposure for a title can gain awareness through our network of influential readers and buyers.” Under a new program called Kirkus Discoveries, authors and publishers are invited to “commission a review,” for $350. Those reviews will be displayed at KirkusDiscoveries.com (which currently points to the main Kirkus home page), and “the best submissions” also will get included in monthly e-mail newsletters. The site description is unclear on whom these newsletters will […]

New Novel from Marquez; Rayo Expands We first learned from blog The Millions that Argentinean newspaper Clarin reported the upcoming release next month of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s first new work of fiction in over ten years, Memorias de Mis Putas Tristes (Memories of My Sad Whores). It’s described as “a history of love narrated in little more than 100 pages.” Though not officially announced here in the U.S., Lunch has learned that the Knopf Group is preparing to release a North American Spanish language edition simultaneous with the publication in other territories. Knopf had also released a Spanish-language edition the […]

Please Note Honey and laptops are a dangerous mix; thus there will be no Lunch tomorrow in observance of the Jewish New Year. Frankfurt Fireworks Apparently efforts by Frankfurt Book Fair head Volker Neumann to secure an early extension of his contract, which runs through the end of next year, have backfired. Supervisory board chairman of the Borsenverein trade association Joachim Treeck confirmed for Germany’s Boersenblatt yesterday in an interview that Neumann’s contract will not be renewed. Treeck insists, “The contract was from the beginning limited [aren’t all contracts?]. It was important to the supervisory board to strive promptly for […]