Here are figures for the first 24 weeks of 2008, according to Nielsen BookScan Total Consumer Market: UK Market-Shate Publisher Sales (pounds) Share 20081 Hachette Livre UK £105,912,663 15.3%2 Random House £104,515,833 15.1% 3 Penguin £68,827,003 9.9%4 HarperCollins £56,790,193 8.2%5 Pan Macmillan £23,543,369 3.4%6 Bloomsbury £17,316,123 2.5%7 Pearson Education £13,023,242 1.9%8 OUP £12,770,894 1.8%9 John Wiley £11,900,951 1.7%10 Simon & Schuster £11,195,056 1.6%
Personnel News
In the Dutton and Gotham publicity department, Beth Parker has been promoted to associate publicity director and Amanda Walker has been promoted to publicity manager.
August 2008 Indie Next
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows The Lace Reader: A Novel by Brunonia Barry The Gargoyle: A Novel by Andrew DavidsonThe 19th Wife: A Novel by David EbershoffThe Seamstress: A Novel by Frances De Pontes Peebles What Happened to Anna K.: A Novel by Irina ReynIodine: A Novel by Haven KimmelThe Likeness: A Novel by Tana FrenchAwesome by Jack PendarvisBikeman: An Epic Poem by Thomas F. Flynn The Little Book: A Novel by Selden EdwardsThe Spirit of the Place by Samuel ShemThe Mercy Rule: A Novel by Perri KlassWaiter Rant: Thanks […]
David Morrell's Graphic "Knockout"
The AP enthuses over the author’s stand-alone comic-book miniseries Captain America: The Chosen, from Marvel. Morrell says in the afterword he wanted to “dramatize the burden of being a superhero in today’s troubled world, especially a superhero named after the United States.” The wire calls it a “poignant, yet uplifting, story with psychological dimensions that transcends the genre.”AP
Chicago's Afrocentric Books to Close
Desiree Sanders, 41, founder and president of Chicago’s Afrocentric Bookstore, says: “The last year has not been good for us as far as customers. It is with much regret that I complete the process of closing our doors after 18 years of service to the Black community. I know by closing I am leaving a void in the Black community but the economics to stay open just aren’t there anymore.”Chicago Reader In Philadelphia, Molly’s Bookstore is selling off inventory and will close. Owner Molly Russakoff says: “The whole nature of the business changed from a laid-back, sociable job to a […]
Australian Import/Copyright Fight: Sounds Like a Losing Battle
In Australia, booksellers and a government commission are seeking to remove the country’s restrictions that give Australian publishers 30 days after the release of book elsewhere in the world to issue an Australian edition (which protects territorial rights and blocks the importing of editions from other countries). The industry response, as the Australian puts it: “The Australian Publishers Association and the Australian Society of Authors are organising a grassroots campaign to educate the public that cheap books will come at a cost to the local industry.”Australian