Hachette Forms India Division
Hachette Livre UK has formed Hachette Book Publishing India, a new division to be run out of New Delhi. The company has poached Penguin Books India CEO Thomas Abraham to run the operation, which is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2008. HBPI, which will be a subsidiary of HLUK, will focus on the company’s British and American lists until it establishes a local business in 2009.
Bryan to Head Penguin India
On the heels of Thomas Abraham’s defection to Hachette to run its Indian division, Penguin has named Mike Bryan CEO and president of Penguin India. Bryan, who is slated to start in the position on September 1, has been at Penguin for 27 years and is being promoted from international sales and marketing director for Penguin in the U.S. and the U.K.
Indigo’s Sales Up in Q1
Canadian retailer Indigo Books & Music Inc. reported a first-quarter net loss of C$2.8 million ($2.7 million), down from a loss of C$5.8 million in the same quarter in 2006. Revenue growth was reported at 8.5%, to C$184.9 million ($175.7 million). At the company’s superstores (Chapters) and small-format stores (Coles), revenue was up 6.1% and 6%, respectively. Online sales were also up 19.6%, to C$19.5 million.
RD Sees Int’l Restructuring
Reader’s Digest has reconfigured its international operations in an attempt to, according to a company spokesperson, make the reporting process to its Pleasantville, N.Y., headquarters more centralized. In the shuffle, Thomas Gardner, who had led the international group, has left the company and three international presidents have been appointed: Paul Heath will handle Asia Pacific; Andrea Martin, who has been handling RD Canada, now adds RD Latin America; and Michael Brennan will oversee RD Europe.
Wilson, S&S Lose CIA Suit
Federal judge Barbara Jones has ruled against Valerie Plame Wilson and Simon & Schuster in a lawsuit the two filed to prohibit the CIA from interfering in the publication of Wilson’s upcoming memoir, FairGame. In their suit, Wilson and S&S argued that the former agent should be able to include the dates she worked for the CIA since that info was already public, but Jones ruled that while the dates are in the public record, they have never been declassified. S&S said it still expects to publish the book this fall.
Audible Sales Up
Revenue at Audible rose 36% in the second quarter, to $25.9 million, and the company’s net loss was trimmed to $125,000 from a loss of $2.2 million in last year’s comparable period. An increase in the number of AudibleListener members—to 431,000 from 309,000 a year ago—was a key factor in the higher sales. For the first half of the year, the company had a net loss of $1.3 million, down from $5.2 million, and sales rose 32%, to $51.2 million.
Edmunds Rises At Workman
Page Edmunds has been named associate publisher at Workman, after Katie Workman stepped down in the fall to pursue opportunities outside of publishing. Edmunds has been with the company since 2000.
More Potter
A second printing of two million copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows has brought the total in-print figure to 14 million. Scholastic reported that in its first 10 days on sale, Hallows sold 11.5 million copies. Nielsen BookScan, meanwhile, said total sales through stores that report to its service were 6.9 million through July 29, with 1.7 million sold in the July 23—29 period.
