Pubs File Copyright Suit



Five publishers have filed a lawsuit against Cann Copy & Printing and Tan Tien Publications, charging the two San Jose, Calif., companies with copyright infringement for allegedly producing unauthorized photocopies of their titles and selling copies to students below their legitimate cost. The suit was filed in California by Elsevier, Houghton Mifflin, Oxford University Press, Pearson Education, Thomson Learning and John Wiley. The suit is not about coursepacks, said Williams Strong, the publishers' lawyer, but involves students buying textbooks, copying the entire book and then returning it to the bookstore for a refund.

HC Adds Mass Market To Rayo

Rayo, HarperCollins's Spanish-language imprint, is launching Mass Market en Español, an initiative offering a selection of popular Harper genre fiction in Spanish-language mass market paperback format. The program will launch later this month with La Noche de la Bruja Muerta, the Spanish translation of Kim Harrison's bestselling novel Dead Witch Walking. Rayo has six books lined up, one title each month.

Deahl Joins 'PW'

Rachel Deahl has joined PW as news editor, taking over some of the reporting duties from Steve Zeitchik, who is moving to Variety. Deahl most recently was associate editor at the Book Standard and, before that, was assistant editor at Working Mother magazine. At PW, Deahl will work on both PW Daily and the Foreword section of the magazine, as well as taking over responsibility for the People column.

Herling Leaving Harper

Lisa Herling, head of corporate communications at HarperCollins for seven years, will be leaving the company at the end of this month. Herling said she felt "the time is right to try something new." Before joining HC, Herling had led corporate communications at Barnes & Noble.

AMS Expects Earnings in '06

In a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission last week, Advanced Marketing Services said it is on track to generate EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of $7.2 million for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2006. AMS expects to hit the number even though it fell short of its first-quarter goal of an EBITDA loss of $4.6 million. The SEC filing also said AMS has been granted another extension to file its long-delayed 10-K for fiscal 2004. Company executives maintain that this time they will hit the new deadline, October 31.

Karp Signs Three

Jonathan Karp has signed the first three books for his new Warner Twelve imprint. Christopher Buckley's Boomsday, Christopher Hitchens's God Is Not Great and Julie Checkoway's Waiting for Hockney will all appear on Warner Twelve's inaugural list, set to debut in April 2007.

Nardin Is Springer CEO

Ted Nardin has been appointed CEO and publisher of the Springer Publishing Company. Formerly group v-p of the McGraw-Hill professional group, Nardin succeeds Diana Schneider, who has been named managing director of Springer parent company Mannheim Media.

Swihart Moves To Consortium

Jennifer Swihart has been named marketing director for Consortium Book Sales & Distribution, replacing Susan Doerr, who moved to the University of Minnesota Press in July. Swihart previously worked in marketing and publicity at a number of New York houses, most recently HarperCollins.

S&S Launches Podcast

Simon & Schuster followed the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group into podcasting last week with the creation of SimonSays Podcast, a free, subscription-based weekly half-hour of original digital audio programming. The podcast, which can be downloaded on www.simonsays.com, will feature such material as exclusive author interviews and excerpts from S&S audiobooks.

More 'PW' Kids, Comics Coverage

Publishers Weekly has just launched two free online weekly newsletters. Children's Bookshelf, which comes out on Thursdays, contains news and features about children's books and children's publishing; see www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6253324.html. And PW Comics Week offers extensive coverage of comics and graphic novel publishing; see www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6259007.

Graphic Arts Refinances

Graphic Arts Center Publishing, one of the Northwest's largest publishers, is close to completing a refinancing that will allow the publisher to get its balance sheet back in order. Mike Hopkins said the refinancing would enable Graphic Arts to pay the approximately $1 million owed its top 20 vendors over the next two years, and also boost its normal business. "We will be able to make good on all requirements," Hopkins said. The company has had cash-flow problems for several years following a slump in business after September 11.