Hastings Book Sales Up
Same-store sales of books at Hastings Entertainment rose 5.6% in the first quarter. Hastings said sales of new trade paperbacks, as well as higher sales of used trade paper and hardcover titles, led the gain in the period. Overall, Hastings had a good first quarter, with sales up 3.1%, to $131.9 million, while net income jumped 20.3%, to just under $3 million.
Doubleday Broadway Now Doubleday
Effective May 28, Doubleday Broadway Publishing Group will be renamed the Doubleday Publishing Group. With the addition in recent years of Spiegel & Grau and Colorado-based Waterbrook Multnomah, the group has out grown the Doubleday Broadway name, the company explained.
Chronicle Buys Handprint
Chronicle Books has acquired Handprint Books, the Brooklyn, N.Y.—based children’s book publisher founded in 2000 by former Dutton president and publisher Christopher Franceschelli. Handprint, which has a backlist of 40 titles, has been distributed by Chronicle since its inception, and Franceschelli will head Handprint from Brooklyn. Handprint’s first list as a Chronicle imprint will consist of a single title, Mama’s Kiss by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Dan Baxter. The imprint is scheduled to issue four to six titles annually.
Baker Sales Rise 16%
Revenue rose 16% at the religious publisher Baker Publishing Group in the fiscal year ended April 30, to $57.9 million. Sales were led by the bestseller 90 Minutes in Heaven, and the company reported growth in all divisions.
MHE Cuts 149
McGraw-Hill Education, which has undergone several rounds of layoffs in recent years, is eliminating another 149 positions. The majority of the cuts are in the assessment business, which produces various testing products. Parent company McGraw-Hill Cos. is taking an $8.5 million pre-tax restructuring charge to account for the downsizing, mostly related to severance costs.
Sarnoff in New Role
Richard Sarnoff, who has held a number of positions at Random House and Bertelsmann, has been appointed co-chairman of Bertelsmann, Inc. the American holding company for the German giant. He joins Bertelsmann chairman Hartmut Ostrowski as co-chair, and will advise the company on its U.S. strategy. Sarnoff, who has no formal RH duties, will continue in his present position of president of Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments.
PMA Now IBPA
The Publishers Marketing Association is changing its name to IBPA, the Independent Book Publishers Association. The new moniker, which will be put in place officially in a ceremony at BEA on Friday, is intended to reflect the organization’s expanded mission of supporting independent publishers.
New Aperture Head
After a lengthy search, Aperture, the New York City photography foundation and resource center, has named the veteran art book publisher Juan García de Oteyza executive director. He starts in July. De Oteyza succeeds Ellen Harris, who resigned for personal reasons in June 2007.
McIntosh to Amazon
Madeline McIntosh is leaving as senior v-p and publisher of the audio publishing and large print groups at Random House to work for Amazon in Luxembourg. With McIntosh’s departure, Amanda D’Acierno has been promoted from director of publicity and marketing for Random House Audio and Listening Library to v-p and publisher of those divisions.
Lang Heading Abrams UK
Harry N. Abrams has appointed Chuck Lang managing director of its U.K. office, Abrams UK. Lang, most recently v-p of publishing and marketing at Langenscheidt Publishing Group, will help adapt Abrams U.S. title for the U.K.
