Following previous reports in the Chinese press, Bertelsmann officially announced the termination of its book club business in China on July 3. That decision came two weeks after the announced closure of all of the company’s 36 franchised retail bookstore chains in 18 cities in China. A Chinese analyst tells Interfax: “Chinese customers are more sensitive to price when purchasing books, but Bertelsmann’s book club model has failed to provide enough discount compared to its competitors, such as Joyo and Dangdang. What’s more, Chinese consumers are becoming more and more used to online purchasing but Bertelsmann, on the other hand, […]
Parry Departs
Agent Emma Parry has left Fletcher Parry “to pursue new challenges” as of July 1. Partner Christy Fletcher will take over Parry’s clients and continue to work non-exclusively with UK agents alongside Melissa Chinchillo, recently promoted to full agent and rights director. “New additions” to the agency’s staff are planned for the fall and Fletcher will retain the name “for the time being.”
U Michigan Drops Controversial Distribution Client
Last month the University of Michigan Press officially notified client Pluto Books that their distribution contract will be terminated at the end of the year. Pluto’s controversial book Overcoming Zionism had sparked a series of investigations and protests over Michigan’s relationship with the UK house. Pluto is the only distribution client being dropped by the press. In this case, the press is citing new guidelines that “say that the UM Press will distribute books only from publishers whose missions and processes of peer review were reasonably similar to its own,” the Ann Arbor News reports. So chairwoman of the press’s […]
Fire Damages Bunch of Grapes Bookstore on Martha's Vineyard
A fire on the morning of the 4th “badly damaged” the Bunch of Grapes Bookstore in Vineyard Haven, MA, spreading from the Cafe Moxie next door. The local paper reports, “although the bookstore building stands, much of the contents was damaged by smoke and water.” MV Times
Pitching Bugliosi's Bush "Murder" Book
It’s a tortured premise but it was good enough to spawn an NYT feature: Vincent Bugliosi’s May release The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder is reported to have sold 130,000 hardcovers so far and the author “has had more than 100 radio interviews about the book” yet the paper also says the book “has risen to best-seller status with nary a peep from the usual outlets that help sell books: cable television and book reviews in major daily newspapers.” Vanguard Press publisher Roger Cooper tells the paper that ABC Radio turned down an advertisement for the book. Newsweek […]
Now, Flexible eScreens on the Way
Prototypes of flexible eInk screens that roll out and retract have been kicking around for years without making it to the commercial marketplace in a big way, but now the Dutch company Polymer Vision says that its Readius device will be on the market this fall in Europe (and in 2009 in the US). The grayscale reader offers a 5-inch flexible eInk screen that unrolls from a plastic housing to display about 22 lines of book text. A final price has not been set, though the company says it will sell for more than the Kindle. NYT