'Potter' a Wash for Amazon
Despite advance orders for 1.5 million copies of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Amazon will only break even on the title. The company discounted the book heavily, reducing the book very close to its break-even price and, later, offering a $1 rebate. The company will not record sales of Half-Blood until the third quarter. Executives also cautioned against expecting a large sales boost from a Half-Blood halo effect, but did say it thought promotions for the title boosted traffic among younger consumers. In the second quarter, North America media group sales rose 17%, to $632 million.
Not Biden His Time
Joseph Biden, the longtime Delaware senator and recently announced candidate for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, has signed with Will Murphy at Random House to publish a memoir, sources say. Though the book is expected to touch on terrorism and security issues, it's been described as much more of a memoir, going back to Biden's Delaware childhood and taking readers through his more than 30 years as a senator. Random confirmed as we went to press.
Kids Spur Meredith Sales
Meredith Corp. reported last week that its Meredith Books division had record profits in the fiscal year ended June 30, led by a strong fourth quarter. In addition to its usual adult lifestyle books, the company published 60 children's books last year, up from 10 in fiscal 2004. Several movie tie-ins did well in the fourth quarter, including titles related to Madagascar, Batman Begins and Fantastic Four.
Bookworld Adds Spanish Books
After a six-month test, book distributor Bookworld is rolling out a Spanish-language book division and catalogue. Francisco Longoria will head the unit from Brownsville, Tex. Bookworld has 500 accounts.
New Group Prez at M-H
Hendrik Kranenburg has been named group president of McGraw-Hill's higher education, professional and international unit, replacing Brian Heer, who has left the company. Kranenburg has been with M-H's Standard & Poor's division. Ed Stanford of the higher ed group and Keith Fox of professional are among those reporting to to Kranenburg.
Digital Audio Player to Debut
A new digital audio player that comes with a preloaded audiobook will be released this fall. The Playaway is being developed by Findaway World, and each player will sport a cover that mirrors a traditional audiobook's packaging and can be shelved in stores. The company has reached licensing deals with a number of publishers and expects to have about 40 titles available at launch.
Cleaving from the U.K.
Knopf is reacting differently to the publication of Chris Cleave's Incendiary than Random U.K. did. That house quieted its marketing machine for the novel about an attack in the London underground after the attacks,but Knopf has pushed ahead, even pitching the author as a post-attack pundit. "It's a completely different set of circumstances," said Knopf's Paul Bogaards. "The distance and the time [elapsed] will help us." He adds that "People will be looking for context."
So far, reviews are split on whether the novel is a gritty and necessary portrayal of modern life or sensationalism that leans on real-life fears in lieu of its own drama.
