News Corp reported results for the third quarter ended March 31, with sales at Harper Collins flat at $515 million. Higher sales in the Christian division made up for a 2 percent negative FX impact. The company’s top titles in the quarter were The Courage to Be Free by Ron DeSantis, Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver and Never, Never by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher. EBITDA was down 9 percent to $61 million, “driven by ongoing supply chain, inventory and inflationary pressures on manufacturing, freight and distribution costs,” which contributed to a cost increase of 1 percent. The company’s press […]
Buzz Books Fall/Winter Preview: Commercial Fiction
Earlier this week we launched our Buzz Book 2023: Fall/Winter sampler, with excerpts from an array of great forthcoming literary and debut fiction. If you haven’t downloaded your copy yet, the “trade edition” is available now from NetGalley or Edelweiss or find the consumer editions all linked at our main Buzz Books website. And on Wednesday, May 17th we’ll convene our live Buzz Books Editors Panel with moderator Leigh Haber hosting five editors and their authors discussing some of the season’s potential breakout titles. Some of the biggest names in publishing have books coming out in fall and winter, from Jessica Knoll, Stephen King, and Walter Mosley, to Brandon […]
People 5/11
Lauren Ortiz has been promoted to publicity manager at Little, Brown.
Feb AAP Stats Show Major Gains in Audio
The AAP released February StatShot data for participating publishers, reporting trade sales of $630.8 million, down 1.5 percent from last year, or $10 million lower. Sales for adult books were $428 million, down 2.1 percent from February 2022. Adult hardcovers fell 13.1 percent to $113 million, paperbacks were down 3.2 percent to $147 million, and ebooks were down 7.6 percent to $71.6 million. Some of those losses were made up for by a 33.5 percent increase in digital audio sales, which amounted to $73.3 million—surpassing ebook sales for the month. Though they aren’t the biggest driver of kids sales, digital […]
Calling Attention to Banned Books Lifts Them Up
Open Road has found that highlighting banned and challenged books in targeted promotions significantly drives awareness and sales. In their initial marketing efforts to “highly targeted segments of power readers” identified by the company’s data science and machine learning technology, “The initial response from readers has been extraordinary, with unheard-of open rates above 75 percent on segmented email sends.” As a result, the company is rolling out a Free Voices marketing initiative, open to all publishers, that can promote ebook editions (which require “limited time, consumer-friendly ebook pricing”), print and audio editions, or both. Chief marketing officer Peter McCarthy says […]
People: Glusman Steps Down As Norton Editor-In-Chief, with Gerstle to Take Over
Vice president, editor-in-chief of Norton John A. Glusman will step back from managerial duties in July, becoming vice president, executive editor, and continuing to acquire. Glusman has been editor in chief since 2011. Dan Gerstle is promoted to editor in chief. Chairman and president Julia A. Reidhead said, “This change, coming at a time when Norton is celebrating its centenary year, underscores the shift that is essential to the continuity and well-being of our independent, employee-owned firm. Under John’s leadership, Norton Trade has thrived, collectively achieving record sales in 2020 and 2021 and enjoying a bounty of awards… We are […]