Reidy Says S&S Headed to a Better Year
In her year-end message to employees, Simon & Schuster CEO Carolyn Reidy cited new imprints, books by YouTube celebrities, soaring digital audio sales, double-digit growth in its direct-to-consumer business and 3.5 million copies old of All the Light We Cannot See as some of the reasons why the publisher will surpass last year’s financial performance in 2015.
See the full memo here:
Dear Colleagues,
As 2015 draws to a close, I offer my thanks and congratulations to each and every one of you for helping to make this another outstanding year at Simon & Schuster. It is evident that both the art and science of publishing are thriving across our company, as seen in the books we published, the many major titles we acquired for the future, the new enterprises we launched and our constant efforts to refine and perfect the business practices that support our creative endeavors. The result is that despite today’s challenging retail environment, with two weeks remaining in December we are well positioned to surpass last year’s financial performance, a tribute to the passion and effort put forth by all of you across the company and throughout the year.
It is especially gratifying to see so many of the initiatives and goals we set for ourselves come to fruition, with the introduction of promising new authors into the marketplace, the systematic manner by which we have strengthened our lists in multiple categories and the aggressive seizing of publishing opportunities of the moment. All of these are practices that are deeply embedded in the Simon & Schuster DNA.
We only need to look to the stellar publications of Jessica Knoll’s debut novel, LUCKIEST GIRL ALIVE, which ran an extraordinary 16 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, and Tommy Wallach’s young adult novel WE ALL LOOKED UP as notable examples of our ability to launch new authors to success.
We created new imprints to target new audiences. Gallery’s Scout Press got off to a flying start with IN A DARK, DARK WOOD, introducing Ruth Ware to the bestseller lists; that was quickly followed by Bill Clegg’s DID YOU EVER HAVE A FAMILY, which made the longlist for both the Man Booker Prize and the National Book Award and was warmly received by the bookseller and reviewer communities alike. SAGA Press has been building an impressive roster of authors and a reputation for high-quality work in the field of science fiction and fantasy, with titles such as Ken Liu’s THE GRACE OF KINGS, chosen by National Public Radio as one of the year’s best. In 2016 we can look forward to the launch of North Star Way and Enliven, imprints that will expand our publishing program for an even more diverse group of authors and audiences.
We have created and perfected—in short order and at multiple imprints within the company—a successful business publishing digitally savvy YouTube personalities and entrepreneurs. This year titles from authors such as Shane Dawson, Connor Franta, Felicia Day, Tyler Oakley and Miranda Sings have been unequivocal bestsellers with real staying power in the marketplace. With each successive book throughout the year we applied knowledge garnered from our earlier forays into this category to hone our publishing program into tightly coordinated worldwide campaigns, helping this category to make a significant contribution to our overall performance.
But along with the new, we once again had major contributions from many of the authors who are mainstays of our publishing program, and with whom we have enjoyed strong and longstanding relationships. David McCullough’s THE WRIGHT BROTHERS was our bestselling nonfiction book and among the bestselling nonfiction titles in the industry, a fitting prelude to next year when we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of our wonderful partnership with this author. Stephen King, who had two #1 bestsellers this year, never ceases to surprise and amaze, and in 2016 we will have the privilege of publishing 29 new-to-us backlist titles, a testament to our entire company’s excellent relationship with Stephen. Mary Higgins Clark is now on a two-book-per-year publishing schedule. We had our first posthumous publication in Vince Flynn’s Mitch Rapp series, expertly authored by Kyle Mills and deftly published to bring Vince’s beloved character back to the bestseller lists. At Threshold Editions, Glenn Beck, Mark R. Levin and Rush Limbaugh all enjoyed #1 bestsellers.
In our Children’s division Rachel Renée Russell’s DORK DIARIES 9 and 10 were both #1 bestsellers (and we have also signed up a new series from this author), as was Abbi Glines’s UNTIL FRIDAY NIGHT. Other strong performers included Jenny Han’s P.S. I STILL LOVE YOU, THE DEATH AND LIFE OF ZEBULON FINCH by Daniel Kraus, which was picked by Entertainment Weekly as one of their best books of the year, and picture books including CLICK, CLACK, HO! HO! HO!, continuing the great run of that franchise, and Nathan Lane and Devlin Elliott’s NAUGHTY MABEL.
Our ability to satisfy readers of all interests and preferences was evident in the breadth of our successes. Practical advice and how-to have been core elements of the Simon & Schuster catalog since our earliest days, and this year we continued that tradition behind such titles as GET WHAT’S YOURS and 100 DEADLY SKILLS; Howard Books’ faith-based publishing brought Wm. Paul Young’s EVE to the bestseller list; and with the political season in full swing Donald Trump’s CRIPPLED AMERICA is galvanizing conservative book buyers.
Our editorial strength is also reflected in the many books we publish that go on to become high-quality film and television productions, which this year led to additional bestseller runs for STILL ALICE, THE EMPEROR OF ALL MALADIES and BROOKLYN.
The extraordinary sales and critical reception for Anthony Doerr’s ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE continued unabated throughout 2015. It has won the Pulitzer Prize, the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and the Indies Choice Book Award. It has enjoyed, since publication, an uninterrupted run on the New York Times bestseller list—it is now in its 84th consecutive week on the hardcover fiction list—and we currently have more than 3.5 million copies in circulation in all formats and editions. If you were to dream up a plan for how to best publish a book and then sustain its success, there could be no finer blueprint than our work on this book.
Simon & Schuster Audio achieved remarkable year-on-year growth; with best-in-class content such as the Stephen King original DRUNKEN FIREWORKS and high-quality productions like Sarah Vowell’s LAFAYETTE IN THE SOMEWHAT UNITED STATES and Jimmy Carter’s Grammy-nominated A FULL LIFE, we are positioned to capitalize on the fast-growing digital audio format which is transforming the audio business. Our Pimsleur Language Programs continue their impressive performance, and with the implementation of a new e-commerce platform we are poised to further develop our direct-to-consumer business and to lay the groundwork for new models and opportunities that we have already begun to test.
We are also seeing terrific results in our direct-to-consumer marketing. Overall traffic and unique visitors, email subscribers and revenues generated by these efforts have all grown by double-digit percentages. Visits to our site generated by search are up more than 50 percent, a clear indication that the hard work so many of you have contributed to our metadata initiative is having a genuine and positive effect. Whether through our very active promotions and partnerships, our increasingly sophisticated use of email campaigns or our piloting of new technologies such as geo-targeting, we have incorporated a digital mindset and digital tools into our day-to-day existence and are now living in the future we imagined not so long ago.
In Riverside, the expansion of our warehouse is due to be completed in early 2016. This strategic capital investment affirms our faith in the durability of the physical book as a viable and desirable format and our commitment to grow our distribution business in the years ahead. In 2016 we added three major clients, Gallup Press, Piggyback and Insight Editions, and with our larger and more efficient facility on the horizon we can look forward to providing the world-class sales and service for which we are known to an even greater roster of quality publishers.
Our international companies all turned in outstanding performances this year. Simon & Schuster Canada, which is once again growing faster than the Canadian industry, launched its domestic publishing program this fall. They quickly became a force in the marketplace, at one point claiming 5 of the top 10 spots on the Globe and Mail’s Canadian bestseller list, including the #1 bestseller SHIFT WORK by Tie Domi. Simon & Schuster UK enjoyed significant year-on-year growth behind #1 bestsellers such as Philippa Gregory’s THE TAMING OF THE QUEEN and Louise Pentland’s LIFE WITH A SPRINKLE OF GLITTER, and bestsellers from Santa Montefiore, Lynda La Plante and from our digital entrepreneurs. The UK’s local publishing program is better than ever, as is their work publishing American-originated titles, and they are well positioned to build on this year’s accomplishments in 2016. Simon & Schuster Australia has outperformed the industry, gained market share, strengthened its local publishing program, done fantastic work publishing our YouTube stars, added new distribution clients and done an excellent job making bestsellers from both US and UK titles. Simon & Schuster India, which in 2016 will launch its own local publishing program, had a major bestseller with Kunal Nayyar’s YES, MY ACCENT IS REAL and also had success with titles ranging from DORK DIARIES to our TED Books.
Our deep-seated culture and focus on improving efficiencies helped us to maintain our profitability despite an often difficult market. That you continue to find new ways to refine our production and operations year after year is a tribute to your resourcefulness and your recognition of just how important this is to achieving our overall publishing and financial goals.
One of the joys of working at Simon & Schuster is that we have the privilege and honor of publishing great authors of every kind and bringing their extraordinary books to people all around the world. It is a mission that we can be proud of and at which we have excelled. In 2016 we can look forward to publishing many more new and familiar notable and high-profile authors, and to build on our many accomplishments this year. All the more reason to wish you and your loved ones a joyful, festive and restful holiday season and health and happiness in the New Year!
