Prince Harry’s memoir SPARE sold a reported 400,000 units in the UK on its opening day yesterday, with the US sales figures to be announced later on Wednesday. Barnes & Noble reported lines out the door at some locations, comparing the crowds to the launch day of Michelle Obama’s 2018 memoir Belonging, and said the book “looks certain to set record-breaking day-one sales at Barnes & Noble.” (As we’ve pointed out in the past, the chain does not actually publish their “sales records,” so every time they make a declaration like this, it is left unspecified how many copies were sold, […]
2022: The Year In Deals
Today we report both fourth quarter and full-year 2022 statistics for US deal reports. Dealmaking patterns were somewhat in line with sales in 2022, as most key domestic deal statistics ebbed from record levels in 2021 but still held at high levels relative to previous years. Things did soften after a strong first quarter, and then picked up a bit in the fourth quarter. In particular: – US deals finished down by only 1.5 percent, with just over 7,000 reported transactions — still 8.9 percent more transactions than we recorded in 2020, and well ahead of earlier years. – Adult Fiction rose […]
Fourth Quarter Deals
Today we report on dealmaking statistics for both the fourth quarter of 2022 as well as the full year — which means that most of our focus is on the annual trends. To recap: The first quarter continued the boom from 2021, setting a new record for overall deal volume, as reported six-figure transactions softened a little to the second-best quarter in years. The second quarter hewed more closely to the sales pattern for print books, with deal volume declining 9.1 percent, but still well ahead of previous years, as reported six-figure deals held flat with 2021, still at record […]
Distribution: Pan Macmillan
In a logical move, Pan Macmillan’s full list will be distributed in the US by Macmillan itself, starting in July. The UK imprints have been distributed in the US by Trafalgar Square Publishing, part of IPG.
Authors Guild Sues Small Press Over Royalties
The Authors Guild has filed suit on behalf of a group of authors against Authors Place Press and its owner, Tony Ferraro, for nonpayment. The complaint, filed in US District Court in Florida, alleges that Authors Place Press and its subsidiary Motivational Press failed to pay royalties and provide royalty statements to authors. The 11 plaintiffs also allege that, after they demanded and were denied payment, the company refused to revert the rights to their books to them. “Sometimes they simply ignored the authors’ requests. Other times, they refused the requests. Still other times, they threatened authors with the destruction of […]
Story Prize Finalists
The Story Prize announced finalists for the 2023 award. The winner will be announced in a livestreamed event on March 15.