Seattle’s Epicenter Press has Kaylene Johnson’s short book SARAH: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska’s Political Establishment Upside Down, published in May, the only book so far about the Republican’s new vice presidential running mate. The publisher told a WSJ blog on Friday “they anticipate ramping up production with Ingram Book Co. for ‘tens of thousands’ more copies.” Prior to the vice presidential announcement the book was not being carried by Amazon or BN.com, though that changed quickly. Epicenter is distributed to the trade by Graphic Arts Center Publishing. Press publisher and co-owner Kent Sturgis told the Seattle Times they […]
The Billionaire and the Bookstore
Apparently folks on Nantucket are trying hard to find some kind of dark side to Wendy Schmidt (wife of Google ceo Eric Schmidt) and her support for local businesses–including her saving of Mitchell’s Book Corner. “Nantucket philanthropists do not, as a rule, stick their noses into the business of running the town. Last year, Wendy Schmidt changed that. She donated land for a transit hub, then saved the bookstore. Now she’s talking about saving other local businesses, at least ones that she and her advisers deem worthy of preservation, and, in doing so, she may be changing the face of […]
International News: Chinese Book Fair, and Random's South African Expansion
Consultant Rudiger Wischenbart is blogging from the Beijing Book Fair–this year actually being held 70 miles away in Tianjin. Among the currents in Chinese publishing, he sees a maturing and ambitious industry that wants to “localize” licensed international content to be more appropriate for the Chinese audience. He says the Chinese also hope to license and export more of their books to the rest of the world. Booklab A report from Technology Media & Technology China says that vice minister of the General Administration of Press and Publication Yan Xiaohong indicated at a convention forum “that the government would adopt […]
Fall Books
The Washington Post offers its extensive preview: “Consider the years of work and accumulated wisdom that have gone into producing the 116 that follow. Here is a treasure trove of knowledge, from a chronicle of the White House war room to the artistry of Marc Chagall. Here, too, is a world of the imagination, from the slave trade as conjured by Toni Morrison to the nervous ’50s with Philip Roth. This is but a mere fragment, a scattered sampling of what’s in store for our readers as we head into the busiest season of the year.”Post The SF Chronicle also […]
Plus: Sundance Sale; Bertelsmann; UK Age-Banding; and More
* In a one-line announcement, Haights Cross Communications it has completed the sale of substantially all of the assets of its educational Sundance/Newbridge Publishing business to Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group on undisclosed terms. * The Financial Times looks at the current remaking of Bertelsmann: “Hartmut Ostrowski’s desire to set out a new growth strategy for Bertelsmann is turning into a battle between the expansionist ambitions of its new management team and the constraining financial legacy inherited from his predecessors.” We know what they’re selling, but it’s not exactly clear what they want to be buying and why. “His hopes […]
Bloomsbury Reports
Bloomsbury reported sales for the first half of their fiscal year of 42.1 million pounds, down considerably from last year’s Potter-influenced 51.4 million pounds, though all divisions except for children’s showed growth in the period. Operating profits were up 6 percent at 3.45 million pounds (and the company made a healthy amount on their cash horde, recording over 1.9 million pounds in investment income). The UK adult trade rose by a third, with sales of 20.5 million pounds, while UK children’s comprised 14 million pounds. The US division was up 10 percent, at 6.4 million pounds; while it continued to […]