Phoenix Books Closed
Phoenix Books Inc. was closed April 23 by owner Dwight Opperman, who acquired the Los Angeles independent publisher in fall 2007. The shutdown came with little warning. Distributor Ingram Publisher Services has stopped distributing its titles, but will accept returns through July. Phoenix had been working since the summer 2009 death of Michael Viner to reposition the company under the direction of Gray Peterson, executive v-p, and editor-in-chief Dan Smetanka, two of the approximately 15 employees who lost their jobs.

Hachette Nashville Office Realigned
The Nashville office of Hachette, home to the FaithWords and Center Street imprints, has been reorganized. All marketing has been centralized in New York, and a three-person editorial office for Center Street has been formed in the city. There will continue to be about 20 people in the Nashville office as the imprints hire staff for new roles, offsetting the jobs lost to New York. In the Nashville office, Jana Burson, who has been publicity director for the division for four years, has been promoted to editor for FaithWords, with Shannon Stowe named to head publicity. Michele McKee was named to the new position of digital content director.

Small Gain at MHE
Revenue at McGraw-Hill Education rose 1.5%, to $317.2 million, for the first quarter ended March 31, and the operating loss was cut by 19.3%, to $61.8 million. The increase was led by the higher education/professional/international group, which had an 8.3% sales gain, to $205.7 million. Sales in the elhi segment fell in the first quarter 9.0%, to $111.6 million, as MHE reported that a modest gain in the instructional materials market was offset by a decline in the testing market.

New Asia Tack For Random
Random House has charged Random House Australia managing director Margie Seale with exploring business opportunities in southeast and northern Asia on behalf of Random House worldwide. Her appointment comes as the company disclosed that in September it discontinued its Japanese joint venture, Random House Kodansha, which began in 2003, and in February divested its four-year ownership of Random House Korea. Both deals were done when Peter Olson was Random chair.

BookMaster Adds Digital Services
Distributor BookMasters Group has launched Converso, a service that will provide conversion and digital distribution for its clients and other publishers. Converso is aimed at small and mid-sized companies and will offer publishers a range of options and fees. BMG has distribution to over 40 digital outlets.

MediaNet Adds E-book Distribution
Digital music and video distributor MediaNet is adding an e-book catalogue and distribution service for as many as 200,000 digital book titles from a range of major publishers. The new service will initially offer titles in Adobe EPub and PDF format with plans to add additional formats. The company said it has “hundreds” of accounts in the U.S. and Canada as well as a presence in the U.K., including a deal with U.K. retailer Tesco.

Sourcebooks Buys Richmond Assets
Sourcebooks has acquired the book assets of Marianne Richmond Studios, a Minneapolis publisher of gift books, board books, greeting cards, journals, sidelines, and other products. There are currently 64 gift books, board books, and mini books on the company's list, all written and illustrated by Richmond. The books have sold more than two million copies altogether, primarily in nontraditional outlets.

Thomson-Shore Adds POD
Thomson-Shore has completed a $12 million improvement project with the installation of a digital print center, moving the company into the POD market.

Tops in Mystery
The winners of the year's Edgar Awards for best mystery writing in 2009 gathered for a group shot at last Thursday's 64th banquet held in New York. Two Minotaur authors, John Hart and Stefanie Pintoff, took prizes for Best Novel (The Last Child) and Best First Novel by an American Author (In the Shadow of Gotham). Other award winners included Marc Strange for Best Paperback Original (Body Blows), and Dave Cullen for Best Fact Crime (Columbine).