Stead Takes Newbery, Pinkney Caldecott
Rebecca Stead won the 2010 Newbery Medal for When You Reach Me (Random/Wendy Lamb), and Jerry Pinkney was named the 2010 Randolph Caldecott Medal winner for The Lion & the Mouse (Little, Brown). The Michael L. Printz Award went to Libba Bray for Going Bovine (Delacorte).
New Amazon Digital Initiatives
Last week Amazon announced an initiative to expand the Kindle’s capabilities by extending its offer for creators to upload and sell content in the Kindle Store to software developers. For two years, the company has allowed authors and publishers to do just that, and later this year, developers will be able to follow suit. Amazon’s Kindle Development Kit will let developers access programming interfaces, tools, and documentation to build active content for Kindle.
Earlier, Amazon announced that beginning June 30 it will add a new royalty option to authors and publishers who use the company’s self-publishing Kindle Digital Text Platform. The new royalty will be 70%, but to qualify, e-books must meet several different standards, including a price that is $9.99 or lower.
BookLocker, Amazon Settle
BookLocker and Amazon have reached a settlement in the antitrust class action lawsuit BookLocker filed against the e-tailer in 2008. The suit was in response to a decision by Amazon to make all print-on-demand publishers use its BookSurge (now CreateSpace) division if they want to sell their titles directly on the Amazon Web site or face the removal of their buy button. Amazon agreed to not remove BookLocker books from its Web site or to remove the “Add to Shopping Cart” button. Amazon, which admitted to no wrongdoing, also agreed to pay $300,000 in attorney’s fees.
New Digital Units at HC
HarperCollins has formed HarperCollins Digital, a unit that will use digital strategies to market titles and extend the reach of its authors online, and the Digital Technology Services group, which will provide technical support for HC’s digital initiatives. Carolyn Pitts has been named senior v-p, HarperCollins Digital, global author services; Joe Park, former CEO of BibleGateway, a division of Zondervan, has been named senior v-p, HarperCollins Digital, consumer products; and Leslie Hulse will continue as v-p, digital business development.
Steinbeck Backs Google Deal
Gail Steinbeck, whose initial opposition led to the first delay of the Google settlement’s fairness hearing, said she supports the revised Google agreement. “While we continue in our belief that what Google did was an imperious act of copyright infringement, it is time to step off the battlefield and evaluate our losses and our gains. When we look at the new conditions of the revised settlement, it meets our standards of control over the intellectual properties that would otherwise remain at risk were we to stay out of the settlement,” Steinbeck wrote in a letter.
Courier Quarter Up
Total revenue at Courier Corp. increased 6%, to $63.1 million in the quarter ended December 26, its first period of fiscal 2010. Net income jumped to $2.8 million from $703,000. Revenue in the manufacturing group increased 8%, to $54.8 million, while publishing segment revenue inched up to $11.6 million from $11.5 million. For the full year, Courier expects sales to finish between $255 million and $266 million compared to revenue of $248.8 million last year. Earnings per share are projected to be in the 75 cents to $1.00 range; last year’s earnings per share was 86 cents, excluding charges.
New Test Prep Unit at Barron’s
Barron’s has broken out its test prep imprint into a separate division and named Bob O’Sullivan, currently managing editor, publisher of the Test Preparation division beginning February 1. O’Sullivan will assume all managerial responsibility for editorial and production, and will work on expanding the program both in print and digitally. He will report to Barron’s president and publisher, Ellen Sibley. Barron’s publishes about 50 test prep titles a year.
