Amazon Completes Audible Buy

Less than one week after completing its tender offer for Audible, Amazon has finalized its $300-million acquisition of the digital audio distributor, making Audible a wholly owned Amazon subsidiary.

Roaring Brook Adds Macaulay

Macmillan’s Roaring Brook Press imprint has signed a deal with author David Macaulay establishing a new imprint, David Macaulay Studio, which will launch in 2011. The imprint will publish future books by Macaulay, who will serve as creative director, as well as titles by other authors and illustrators.

Hansen to New Scholastic Post

Michael Hansen has been appointed to the newly created spot of executive v-p of Scholastic and president of the book fairs and international groups. Hansen had been president and CEO of Harcourt Assessment. Hugh Roome, who had been head of international, has been named to the new post of president, consumer and professional publishing division. Alan Boyko, president of Scholastic Book Fairs, will continue in that role, reporting to Hansen.

Trudy Buys Musical Kidz

Children’s book and audio publisher Trudy Corp. has acquired some inventory, the mail-order catalogue and the e-commerce Web site of Musical Kidz in a deal valued at $550,000. Musical Kidz is a publisher of children’s music distributed under the record label Music for Little People. In addition, Leib Ostrow, president of Musical Kidz, will join Trudy to head the company’s direct-to-consumer sales division.

OverDrive Adds DRM-Free

OverDrive, one of the main suppliers of audio content to libraries and other institutions, is adding DRM-free titles to its catalogue and going direct-to-consumer. Through a retail partnership with Borders that launches in May, OverDrive will begin offering its audiobooks and e-books through Borders.com and in the chain’s stores. The new DRM-free titles, which can be downloaded to any number of MP3 devices, will pad the company’s current catalogue of nearly 20,000 DRM-protected audiobooks and 10,000+ e-books.

Obituary: Jane Blackstock

Jane Blackstock, well known in the British publishing industry, died March 3 in London. She was 61. Blackstock began her career in 1972 as an agent at Patrick Seale. She worked for Gollancz from 1978 to 1998, first as rights director and then as publishing director. At John Murray, she was also rights director. She was a popular figure at the Frankfurt and London book fairs, and was well known to American editors and agents.