AAP Brief Asks Court to Bar Importation of Unauthorized Works

The Association of American Publishers filed a friend of the court brief yesterday urging the Supreme Court to uphold a ruling by the Ninth Circuit which held that the "first sale doctrine" does not apply to the unauthorized importation into the U.S. of copyrighted works that are manufactured overseas and acquired abroad.

Despite Dip, Scholastic Moves Forward on Paper Front

A decline in the total use of paper plus the loss of a Forest Stewardship Council supplier resulted in a decline in FSC-certified paper used by Scholastic in 2009, but the company said it remains committed to getting to the 30% FSC-certified level by 2012.

The Rumpus Becomes a Book Publisher

The Rumpus, the omnivorous online magazine founded by author Stephen Elliot, is about to publish its first book, an anthology of personal essays by women called The Rumpus Women, Vol. 1, inaugurating the magazine's Paper Internets imprint. The book's publication is affiliated with the innovative Rumpus book club.

The Two Sides of Orange Frazer

Orange Frazer Press was launched almost 25 years ago when its three cofounders produced a paperback, thinking at the time this would be their sole foray into book publishing. Since then, the Wilmington, Ohio, family-owned and operated company has been successful by specializing in two lucrative niches: regional nonfiction with a national reach and custom publishing for both companies and individuals.

Touchstone Drops 'Fireside'

Founded in 1970 as the trade paperback division of Simon & Schuster but with two names, the imprint formerly known as Touchstone/Fireside will be known as simply Touchstone beginning this week.

Random, Harper Ride the Publishing Carousel Up

There is no better example of the cyclical nature of book publishing than the six-month results of the nation's five largest trade publishers. Four of the five houses reported significant changes in their operating performance in the first half of 2010 compared to one year ago, with big books, or the lack thereof, playing a major role in the shifts.

News Briefs: Week of 9/6/10

HarperCollins Rebrands Eos Books HarperVoyager

At Aussiecon IV, the science fiction convention running in Melbourne, Australia from Sept. 2-6, HarperCollins announced that it was rebranding its U.S. science fiction/fantasy imprint Eos Books as HarperVoyager. The name change, which officially kicks in Jan. 1, will give the U.S. imprint the same name as Harper’s sci/fi imprints in the U.K. and Australia and New Zealand. The goal of the rebranding is to create a more unified sci/fi program that will allow HC to acquire English-language rights.

'Mockingjay' Sells More Than 450,000 Copies in First Week

Mockingjay, the final book in The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, sold more than 450,000 copies (hardcover and e-book) in its first week on sale in the U.S., its publisher, Scholastic, announced Thursday. The book debuted at number one on both the USA Today and New York Times bestseller lists. Scholastic has gone back to press for an additional 400,000 copies, bringing the total number of copies in print for Mockingjay in the U.S. to 1.6 million since its August 24 publication.

North Atlantic Books Launches Evolver Editions

Nonprofit Berkeley, Calif., press North Atlantic Books has launched a new imprint, Evolver Editions. The imprint is a collaboration between North Atlantic, which publishes books on alternative health and other subjects, and Evolver LLC, which publishes the online magazine Reality Sandwich, a place for writings on "psychic evolution."

California State University, College Publishers Announce 'Digital Marketplace' Deal

The California State University has announced an agreement with five major college publishers to participate in a pilot project to license digital course content through an initiatve called the Digital Marketplace. Starting in Fall, 2010, Bedford/Freeman/Worth, Cengage Learning, McGraw-Hill Education, Pearson, and John Wiley & Sons, will offer content through pilot courses at five CSU campuses: Dominguez Hills, Fullerton, Long Beach, San Bernardino and San Francisco State.

Rowman & Littlefield Providing Publishing Services to Four University Presses

The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group has established a department to provide publishing services to four U.S. university presses: University of Delaware Press, Bucknell University Press, Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, and Lehigh University Press.

Lamb Aiming For a New Vantage Point

Back in its heyday, Vantage Press ruled the self-publishing (then known as vanity publishing) world, with a market share that hovered around 25% from the 1950s through the early 1990s.

News Briefs: Week of 8/30/10

Rousing the Sleepers

One question looms over this fall's indie lists: what's this year's Tinkers, the first novel that could? It launched with a very small print run, went on to win a Pulitzer Prize, and now has sold more than 100,000 copies in print and e-book formats.

Heyday, California

Just back from the Sierra Nevada and the Squaw Valley Writer's Conference, Malcolm Margolin, who founded Heyday Books in 1974, says he was rejuvenated by the "nourishing hunger" he witnessed there for a literary life.

Tyrus Books Acquires Busted Flush Press

One-year-old Tyrus Books, which publishes crime and dark literary fiction, has acquired Busted Flush Press, LLC, which publishes previously out of print thrillers and hardboiled crime fiction. Together, Tyrus and Busted Flush will have about 45 books in print by the end of this year, with another 20 titles scheduled for release next spring.

Orbit Makes a Third Rotation

There are exceptions, of course, but science fiction and fantasy covers often feature images of lone figures and bright flashes of light. Trilogies can take years to be published. Publishers often divide their advertising budgets between print and online ads. And then there's Orbit, Hachette's science fiction/fantasy imprint.

News Briefs: Week of 8/23/10

Universal Map Acquires American Map and Affiliates

Universal Map Group LLC has acquired the intellectual property and other assets of American Map Copopration, Hagstrom Map Company, Alexandria Drafting Company and Hammond World Atlas Corporation, all subsidiaries of New York-based map publisher Langenscheidt Publishers. The divesture is scheduled to close shortly.