Playmore Files Chapter 11
Children's publisher Playmore Inc. filed for Chapter 11 in late July, reporting assets of $6.8 million and $5.2 million in liabilities. The filing stems from a dispute with its business partner, Waldman Publishing, over copyright ownership of certain materials. A lawsuit filed by Playmore against Waldman is reportedly close to a settlement, but Playmore, with its sales plummeting, filed for bankruptcy before the settlement was finalized.
Marvel Results Down
Sales fell 3%, to $31.8 million, in Marvel's publishing segment in the second quarter ended June 30, which the company attributed in part to a drop in sales through the direct channel. Operating income declined 3.3%, to $11.7 million, due to rising costs as well as digital investments. Marvel is investing $4 million in digital initiatives in the year. For the first six months of 2008, earnings were off 17.5%, to $21.6 million, while revenue dipped 3.6%.
RD's Best Nonfiction Closing
Reader's Digest will stop publishing its Today's Best Nonfiction line after the release of the February 2009 selections. It will continue to publish the company's other lines—Select Editions, Best Mysteries of All Time and World's Best Reading in the U.S. With TBN closing, Jim Menick has been named executive editor, US Reading Series. He succeeds Laura Kelly, v-p and global editor-in-chief, who is leaving the company, along with two other TBN editors.
Motions Flow in Amazon Case
The judge hearing Amazon's motion to dismiss Booklocker's antitrust lawsuit against the e-tailer over its decision to make print-on-demand publishers use its BookSurge subsidiary to manufacture POD titles if they want to sell their titles on Amazon directly is expected to issue a ruling in September. The heart of Booklocker's case charges Amazon with antitrust violations for “tying” its book printing services to its bookselling services. Amazon said that what it has done is merely a way to improve the efficiency of its supply chain, and that the company is free to set whatever conditions it wishes.
Blue Mountain Arts Forms Book Division
The publisher of cards, books, calendars and gift items has formed a dedicated book division. Frank Masek, formerly at Abrams, will head sales for the division; Patti Wayant, who has been editorial manager at Blue Mountain for nearly 25 years, will run editorial and art.
Scholastic in Continuities Sale
Scholastic has signed an agreement to sell its direct-to-home continuities business to the privately held Norwegian company Sandvik AS, which operates children's book clubs. The group lost $24 million on sales of $168 million in Scholastic's most recent fiscal year.
Nat'l. Geo. Launches New Imprint
National Geographic plans to break into the high-end photography market with Focal Point, an imprint dedicated to showcasing images from its photographic archive.
Geringer Leaving HC
Laura Geringer, a 28-year veteran at HarperCollins Children's Books who has published an eponymous imprint at the company for the past 17 years, will leave at the end of this month. Since its inception, her imprint has sold more than 50 million books.
Correction
Small Press Distribution sells about 100,000 books per year, not $100,000 worth of books, as was reported in our 50 Under 40 profile of Brent Cunningham (Aug. 4). SPD's sales total more than $1.1 million annually.
