Books Gain at Hastings

Same-store sales in the book segment rose 2.5% in the third quarter at Hastings Entertainment, driven by strong sales of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series. Sales of used books were also up. Total revenue for the retailer increased 2.7%, to $122.3 million, and the company had net income of $73,000 compared to a loss of $2.2 million in the third quarter in 2006. For the first nine months of the year, book comps were up 2.7%, reflecting sales of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and strong sales of used books. Sales of promotional titles and remainders were off.

CPi, MBI Consolidating

Quayside Publishing is moving its two Minnesota subsidiaries—Creative Publishing international and Motorbooks International—into new 30,000-sq.-ft. offices in the Wyman Building in downtown Minneapolis. CPi will move on November 26, followed by MBI in January. In total, 105 people will be affected by the move, and although no layoffs are part of the consolidation, CPi and MBI have lost a dozen staff members through attrition.

Fodor's in Cellular Deal

Fodor's Travel has teamed with mobile search company AskMeNow to provide its content to cell phone users. AskMeNow will work with Fodor's to tailor the company's content for the service.

Slager to Lead Milkweed

Milkweed Editions has promoted editor-in-chief Daniel Slager to publisher and CEO. Before being named publisher and CEO, Slager shared leadership duties at Milkweed with managing director Hilary Reeves. No announcement was made about Reeves's future role.