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S&S, GoSpoken to Offer E-titles for Mobile Phones
Simon & Schuster is teaming up with GoSpoken.com, a U.K.-based provider of e-books and audiobooks for mobile phones, to offer a selection of S&S tiles for U.S. mobile phones.
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Lulu Poetry Separate from Former Scam Site
When self-publishing site Lulu announced earlier this week that it had launched a Poetry site at www.Poetry.com, some confusion ensued. That’s because before Lulu bought the domain Poetry.com, it was owned by Watermark Media, which had operated a “contest” on the site that was largely regarded by the online poetry community as a scam.
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Borders to Overhaul Board, Enhance Book Clubs
Borders issued two very different announcements in the last 24-hours. The retailer said it will not need to ask for a reverse stock split and will elect an almost entirely new board of directors. It also said that it's added new features to its book clubs.
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The Return of ‘Blueberries for Sal’
Robert McCloskey’s Caldecott Honor picture book, Blueberries for Sal, hasn’t been available to order for the past year. However, following several years of negotiation between Penguin and McCloskey’s estate, that situation is about to change. Finally, last Thursday, an agreement was reached between Viking and the McCloskey estate for the entire body of McCloskey’s work.
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Amazon Launches App for Blackberry
Amazon.com unveiled its mobile app for Blackberry smart phones today. The app is similar to the iPhone app Amazon launched in December, allowing users to shop, access their Amazon account, and view various editorial features from their phones.
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Marshall Vows to “Do Whatever Is Necessary” to Turn Borders Books Around
In his first public comments since taking the helm of Borders Group at the beginning of the year, CEO Ron Marshall said he has four priorities in working to turn around the nation's second largest bookstore chain, starting with getting the retailer's “financial house in order.” His immediate goal is to create enough financial stability to allow the company to survive, and then to in...
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Flashlight Press Turns Five
Flashlight Press could also be called The Little Publisher That Could. Since the micro-press started five years ago, it has steadily published two to four 32-page picture books a year. Based out of Jerusalem, Shari Dash Greenspan serves as the tiny publisher’s jack-of-all-trades. She acquires and edits manuscripts, collaborates with the illustrators and maintains Flashlight’s web site.
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U of New Mexico Press Downsizes
Facing a weak economy and a drop in sales of over 20%, the University of New Mexico Press last week laid off two employees and is looking into outsourcing its warehouse/customer service operations.
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Macmillan Expands Book and Author Podcast Program
After launching a dedicated Web site for podcasters—and potential authors—in September 2007, Macmillan is deepening its foothold in the downloadable audio market by selling expanded podcasts. The company's Quick and Dirty Tips series, spun around podcaster-turned-author Mignon Fogarty (whose book, Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips to Clean Up Your Writing, was released in April 20...
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A Down Year for Random House
With operating EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) falling significantly faster than sales last year, Random House's return on sales was 8.0% in 2008, the lowest since 2004, when the return rate was 7.8%. Moreover, the 137 million euros in operating EBIT is before special items of 50 million euros associated with restructuring, severance and other allowances taken by parent company Bertel...
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Jordan Fenn: Canadian Publisher Does Things Differently
While many heads of publishing houses have worked their way up through editorial, Jordan Fenn started out as a sales rep for H.B. Fenn and Company, the Toronto publishing company his father, Harold B. Fenn, started in 1982 (actually, Jordan's very first job was sweeping the warehouse floors). Fenn, now publisher of Key Porter Books and Fenn Publishing and v-p of H.
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HarperCollins to Use Electronic Catalogue for Fall Books
With its announcement last week that it is moving from print to digital catalogues beginning with its fall list, HarperCollins became the first major trade house to abandon print catalogues in favor of electronic versions, but other publishers are certain to make the move as well. Ten publishers just finished participating in a beta test of Edelweiss, an interactive catalogue created by John Ru...
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The JIST of It: Jobs: Career Advice Publisher Flourishing
Talk about silver linings. For one small Midwestern publisher, the deepening recession, and the federal response to it, has breathed new life into the press's bread-and-butter titles on career advice. If a country is in need of a major stimulus package, it surely bodes well for the publisher with a book about jobs in that package—particularly a publisher whose acronym stands for Job Infor...
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B&N Digital Initiatives Coming, Riggio Promises
Barnes & Noble has a broad range of digital initiatives in development, CEO Steve Riggio said, though he declined to reveal when any new services maybe rolled out.
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Harlequin Books Hits 60
This year marks romance publisher Harlequin's 60th anniversary, and despite the economy, the house has reason to celebrate. Financially, it just posted a solid year, with revenue rising 2.2%, to C$472.9 million ($379 million), and operating profit increasing 11.2%, to C$67.4 million. Culturally, the house has represented women's fiction so strongly over the years that its book jackets are going...
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Amazon Expands Worldwide Presence
The attention Amazon's digital initiatives have received has overshadowed to some extent the growing global reach of the e-tailer. In 2008, Amazon's international sales rose 33%, to $8.9 billion, and accounted for 47% of its total revenue, compared to 45% in 2007. The company shipped products to more than 200 countries last year.
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Earnings Up at Hachette
Strong profit growth in the U.S. helped boost overall earnings at Hachette.
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Sale of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Trade Moving Ahead
Sources say four bidders remain interested in acquiring the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt trade and reference group.
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Carmichael’s Wins Bookseller of the Year; Benton Rep Winner
Carmichael’s Bookstore has been voted PW’s Bookseller of the Year, while Tom Benton has taken the award as Rep of the Year. Carmichael’s finished first in a close race with several other nominees, while Benton had a more comfortable edge.
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Currency Issues, U.S. Economy Result in Down Quarter at Wiley
The “unprecedented” impact of foreign exchange had a dramatic negative impact of John Wiley’s results for the third quarter ended January 31. Revenue for the company fell 13% on a reported basis, and declined 2% without the affect from currency translations. Operating income fell 7%, to $63.3 million, on a reported based.
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