Suit Alleges BN Publishing Showed More than Bad Manners with Social Savvy Books Boston-based etiquette instructor/entrepreneur Judith Ré and her trademarked Social Savvy business are in a four-count trademark infringement battle with Barnes & Noble Publishing, the Boston Globe’s Alex Beam reports, with a court hearing scheduled for May 4. Ray contends that as soon as her own book SOCIAL SAVVY: A Teenager’s Guide to Feeling Confident in Any Situation went out of print last year, BN’s publishing line issued THE GIRL’S GUIDE TO SOCIAL SAVVY and THE GUY’S GUIDE TO SOCIAL SAVVY, authored by her local competitor Jodi R.R. […]

Bad News from Borders Yesterday the bookseller revised downward their sales and earnings guidance for the fiscal first quarter of 2005, ending later this month. Same-store sales at the superstores have declined 0.8 percent so far (and are down 3 percent at Walden), and they expect to record a loss for the quarter of .06 to .07 cents a share. It wasn’t that along ago (in early March) that the company was forecasting earnings of 0 to .02 cents a share for the quarter and a same-store sales increase in the “low single digits” at the Borders superstores. Fortunately for […]

Neumann to Leave FBF Early Ever since the Frankfurt Book Fair declined to renew Volker Neumann’s contract and appointed Jürgen Boos to replace him, it was considered doubtful that Neumann would serve out his contract, scheduled to run through the end of 2005. Now that Boos has started his job as president of the Fair (as of the beginning of April), Neumann will step down as co-president at the end of the month. “By mutual agreement,” Neumann will continue to serve as a consultant. Viacom Reports As expected, Viacom reported lower net income for their fiscal first quarter ($585 million, […]

Oprah’s Magazine Adds Books The Oprah Magazine will produce an annual series of hardcover books, beginning with LIVE YOUR BEST LIFE: A Treasury of Wisdom, Wit, Advice, Interviews and Inspiration from O, in partnership with Oxmoor House. They’ll push hard in direct mail marketing and sell to the trade through their Sunset Books and Leisure Arts divisions. Orange Shortlist Old Filth, by Jane Gardam The Mammoth Cheese, by Sheri Holman A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, by Marina Lewycka Liars and Saints, by Maile Meloy We Need to Talk About Kevin, by Lionel Shriver Billie Morgan, by Joolz Denby […]

Morrison Back to Penguin Stephen Morrison will return to Penguin, where he worked from 2000 to 2003, taking the position of editor-in-chief and associate publisher, reporting to Kathryn Court. He starts in early May. Altruda Named President in Borders Shift Borders announced a realignment of top management, naming Vin Altruda as president of Borders Group US, responsible for “the customer experience and performance” of all domestic operations. Chief marketing officer Mike Spinozzi has been named chief product officer, continuing to oversee merchandising and supply chain in the US, and “as international operations continue to grow, he will spend a larger […]

Confirmed: Mobi Is In Amazon’s Pocket Subsequent to our initial report based on Franklin Electronic Publishing’s disclosure to the SEC of the sale of their stock in e-reading software company Mobipocket to Amazon, Lunch has confirmed via Amazon spokesperson Patty Smith that the company has acquired Mobipocket outright. Franklin was part of a group of minority shareholders, with a group of Mobipocket founders holding the majority of shares. The motivation behind the purchase, Smith says, “was mainly because they’ve got a great group of innovative engineers and we thought it was a smart move.” As to what Amazon might do […]