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Hodder & Stoughton Splits Into Two Publishing Divisions
British publisher Hodder & Stoughton (which is owned by Hachette) is splitting in two, creating two distinct divisions with their own managing director.
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Former Open Letter Editor Starts Digital Publisher
E.J. Van Lanen, cofounder of Open Letter Books, has started his own e-book publisher, Frisch & Co.
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E-books Share of Canadian Market Pegged at 16%
BookNet Canada’s first survey of where Canadians buy books and what types of books they buy found that about 16% of purchases in the first half of 2012 were of e-books, while paperback remained the most popular format, with a 57% share.
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Rowling, James, Follett Tops Overseas: International Bestsellers, October 2012
J.K. Rowling, E.L. James, and Ken Follett all had books on multiple lists around the world as Septembercame to a close. The Casual Vacancy, J.K. Rowling’s first book for adults, landed at #1 in France and the U.K. when it was released late last month. Two spots behind Vacancy in France is another big author: Toni Morrison’s Home continues to sell well overseas after first being released in May 2012 from Knopf.
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New Venture Bringing French Bestsellers to U.S.
Indie startup Le French Book is bolstering its lineup of French translation e-books published in the U.S.
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Ongoing Coverage of the Canadian Publishing Industry: Quebec
In conjunction with the Publishing in Quebec 2012 print report, PW will continue to add new articles relevant to the Canadian printing industry.
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Moran, Binet Score Hits: International Bestsellers September 2012
Landing at #2 on the German fiction chart in August is the fourth in Jussi Adler-Olsen’s Department Q series, Journal 64; Adler-Olsen is an international bestselling thriller writer whose first two novels in this series were published in quick succession by Dutton. The Keeper of Lost Causes was published last year (the paperback followed on July 31 of this year), and The Absent One, the second book in the series, was published August 21. Both books received starred reviews from PW. The first book in the series has sold over 36,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen BookScan.
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Igloo Books Building U.S. Presence
Having grown revenue to just under £20 million since its launch in 2003 to the year ended March 31, 2012, largely on the strength of inexpensive children’s and adult print books, Igloo Books, based in Northamptonshire, England, is looking to digital and international markets to drive its next round of growth. Although the U.S. accounted for about 20% of its total sales in fiscal 2012, the company just added Doug Pocock, most recently with Egmont USA, to help expand sales in America. Pocock joins Jonny Illingworth and Jennifer Harrison to spend about half of their time in the States talking to accounts, said John Styring, Igloo CEO. His goal for the current year is to hit £8 million in sales in the U.S., something Styring believes can be achieved by expanding into more mass merchants. Igloo has a good presence in Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million, but is not as strong among the mass merchandisers in the U.S. as in the U.K. “We have a strong relationship with Wal-Mart in the U.K.,” Styring noted.
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Adapting to Conditions: Canadian Publishing 2012
The publishing business mirrors the natural world in many ways: it’s a fertile, creative process influenced by myriad conditions, some as unpredictable and unforgiving as weather. The coming of the e-book and digital publishing to the Canadian book industry can be compared to the approach of climate change.
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English-Language Publishers in Québec: Publishing in Quebec 2012
Contemplating Canada’s publishing industry, most publishers located outside the country think of Toronto, especially when it comes to English-language books. Few realize that there is a small group of independent, English-language publishers hailing from the one Canadian province usually associated with the French language: Québec.
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Case Study: Publishing in Quebec 2012
If there were ever a case that illustrates the quality, diversity, and innovation of Québec publishing, it’s the Dictionnaire Visuel, or Visual Dictionary, published by QA International. Since its first French edition in 1986, the Visual Dictionary has been published in more than 35 languages, in more than 100 countries, selling more than eight million copies. What’s more, the world’s largest publishers, including Merriam-Webster, have become QAI’s international partners.
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Translation: Publishing in Quebec 2012
Cooperation. Balance. Business. Erwan Leseul does business the way he leads his life: everything in its right place. Vice president of publishing at Les Éditions de l’Homme, Québec’s venerable publishing house, Erwan Leseul doesn’t own a bookcase: “My professional life is brimming with books. Once I have read a book, I don’t hold on to it, I give it to someone else or I abandon the book on a park bench so that it finds its way into someone else’s hands.”
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Québec’s Digital Book Warehouse: Publishing in Quebec 2012
Every minute, a title is added—5150 rue des Ormes, I Hate Hockey, L’envers de l’assiette, À fleur de peau; every hour, a new author is categorized—Patrick Senécal, François Barcelo, Laure Waridel, Martine Latulippe; every day, a new publisher signs on—Alire, Baraka Books, Écosociété, Québec Amérique. The clock never stops ticking, the megabytes fill the cybernetic void. The e-book warehouse club is jumping.
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The International Play: Publishing in Quebec 2012
This vast French-speaking territory located north of New England that receives, year in, year out, some 500,000 American tourists—some of whom visit its capital, Québec City; others, its metropolis, Montréal—has produced an impressive list of stars and international cultural successes. Children all over the world know Caillou, the star of the eponymous book series. Teenagers on all seven continents sing and dance to the music of Simple Plan; and the whole world can appreciate the success of Céline Dion, the Cirque du Soleil, Robert Lepage… not to mention the triumphs of the province’s movie industry, including the Oscar-winning Les invasions barbares (The Barbarian Invasions).
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Made-in-Québec Book Chain Discounts Bibliothèques a Book Culture: Publishing in Quebec 2012
There was a time in the French-speaking province of Québec when illiteracy ran rampant and books and libraries were scarce and subject to moral censure. In those early days, one of the first Church-controlled publishing houses saw fit to issue a moral rating system for books. “For my part,” recalls Denis Vaugeois in his ode to books and publishing entitled L’amour du livre (For the love of books), “I would stop at the youth library every day and pile up on books for myself and some of the boarders at school; we devoured books. And I remember, I would always have to go to the principal’s office to have my reading material approved.”
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Québec: An Overview: Publishing in Quebec 2012
Jack Kerouac, whose parents hailed from Québec and whose ancestors included Indian men and women, is considered by some to be a Québec writer in exile. Kerouac is known to have said that he “refashioned English to fit French images,” and his quest for recognition as being indigenous to North America could be a metaphor for Québec. The only difference is that most of those French images are now well rendered in French, thanks to a vibrant publishing industry that has flourished since the late 1960s.
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Content Services 2012: Evolving Math and Science Book Production Services
Before the 1990s, publishers looked at India only for straightforward science and math book production for the higher-ed and professional segments. Inquiries for math and science textbooks were rare. Then slowly things changed, starting with school publishers approaching vendors such as Chennai-based diacriTech to produce supplementary materials.
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HarperCollins Canada Launches New Imprint
HarperCollins Canada launches new imprint, hires former Thomas Allen & Son publisher Patrick Crean
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Big Hits Keep Selling Well
Swedish crime writer Camilla Läckberg has seen international success since releasing her 2003 debut, Ice Princess (published in 2010 by Pegasus), and to date her books have been translated into 33 languages. In France, her 2008 novel The Drowning was the top title. Earlier this year, Pegasus published another of her novels, The Stonecutter.
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Content Services 2012: The Challenge in Text Permissions
In publishing, imitation is definitely not the best form of flattery. In fact, using another person's work—be it a small paragraph or an obscure quote—without proper permission may lead to copyright litigation.
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