On Wednesday at the Frankfurt Book Fair, two ceos discussed the top-level changes at their companies, their opinions on growth, and more. In conversation with Publishing Perspectives editor in chief Porter Anderson, Hachette Book Group and Hachette UK ceo David Shelley, who took over as CEO of the US division less than a year ago, discussed ways he can bring the two companies together. “I come from an editorial background, so I could see ways in which, if you get editors and publishers talking more, there’ll be more things that just organically come with that,” he said, primarily getting world […]
This Year’s Media Controversy: Saviano To Speak at FBF After Being Absent From Guest of Honor Programming
Bestselling Italian author Roberto Saviano will appear this weekend at the Frankfurt Book Fair, despite not being among the initial writers chosen to represent Italy, this year’s guest of honor at the fair. Saviano will appear on a panel at a PEN Berlin event on Wednesday and will speak several times on Friday and Saturday of the fair, the days that typically cater to consumers. In June, 41 authors signed a letter of protest, saying that Saviano’s exclusion from Italy’s official programming was a form of censorship by the government, led by far-right prime minister Giorgia Meloni, of whom Saviano has […]
Kindle Adds Color Device In “Entirely New Lineup”
Amazon finally announced a color ereader, Kindle Colorsoft, priced at $279.99, releasing October 30. They are also revamping the rest of the Kindle device line, with their “thinnest and fastest ever” Kindle Paperwhite, and an entry-level Kindle “in a fun new Matcha color.” In the announcement, vp of Amazon Devices Kevin Keith notes, “[ebook] sales last year hit a decade high with the majority of purchases going to first time Kindle device owners.” He added, “We are excited to bring our customers a completely new Kindle lineup, including our first color Kindle and a re-imagined Kindle Scribe with even better in-book […]
8th Note Press Partners With Zando On Print Editions
ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, announced a partnership between its digital-only imprint 8th Note Press and Zando to expand into print books. Zando “will debut its titles for the first time in print to a worldwide audience.” The two companies plan to release 10 to 15 romance, romantasy, and YA titles a year in print, beginning in early 2025, with a focus on millennial and Gen Z readers. Under the partnership, some titles will be completely new and others will be print versions of existing e-books. 8th Note’s head of editorial Jacob Bronstein told the NYT, “Physical books […]
Record Fall/Frankfurt Adult Deals Follow Big Third Quarter
Yes, your fall and pre-Frankfurt deal submissions really have been even more overwhelming than usual this year. As we noted yesterday, US publishers were strong buyers in the third quarter of the year and that continued in October, as we saw new records for overall deals during this key five-week-plus selling stretch, lifted by adult books in particular. (As a reminder, we measure the five weeks and a day leading up to the Wednesday opening of FBF. Usually that begins with Labor Day, though last year and this year Frankfurt is a week later than usual.) US deals were up […]
Announced: Pope Francis’s Autobiography; A Pub Date (and A Different Publisher) For Diller Memoir; Suzanne Collins Cover Reveal
Random House, an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, will publish HOPE, in the US. Italian publisher Mondadori announced the forthcoming publication of HOPE, the autobiography of Pope Francis, which will be published simultaneously worldwide next January, and for which the Italian publisher is managing world rights. Molly Turpin at Random House acquired world English rights (joined by Penguin Random House Canada and Viking UK). They say the pontiff has been working on the book for six years, written with publisher Carlo Musso. The release says, “In accordance with the wishes of Pope Francis, this […]