Authorlink News Alert

Book Sales Gain 4.1%, E-Books Up 180 %

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:30:00 +0000

Book Sales Gain 4.1%,
E-Books Up 180 %

NEW YORK,NY/AUTHORLINK NEWS/December 17, 2009--Book sales tracked by the Association of American Publishers (AAP) for the month of October increased by 10.2 percent at $725.8 million and were up by 4.1 percent for the year.

Publishers’ net sales for e-books in particular for the month of October reached $18.5 million for the month of October, compared to $5.2 million last year. Year-to-date sales in aggregate for the period of January-October 2009, reached $130.7 million, compared to $46.6 million in 2008 for the same period last year, reflecting a 180.7% increase. Currently trade market e-books according to AAP reports account for 3% of total trade sales.

On the print side, The Adult Hardcover category rose 6.3 percent in October with sales of $259.9 million; year-to-date sales were up by 3.9 percent. Adult Paperback sales jumped up 37.5 percent for the month ($130.4 million) but were down by 4.8 percent for the year. The Adult Mass Market category was down 1.8 percent for October with sales totaling $61.2 million; sales were down by 0.4 percent year-to-date. The Children’s/YA Hardcover category declined by 0.5 percent for the month with sales of $87.9 million, but sales for year-to-date increased 4.4 percent. The Children’s/YA Paperback category was up by 20.2 percent in October with sales totaling $52.7 million, reflecting a 4.1 percent increase for the year.

Borders Invests in Kobo eReading Site

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 23:33:00 +0000

Borders Invests
in Kobo eReading Site

TORONTO, ON/AUTHORLINK NEWS/December 18, 2009— On the success of its millionth download, Shortcovers this week announced it has raised $16 million CAD from a group of investors which includes Borders Group., Inc, majority shareholder Indigo Books & Music, Inc., Instant Fame, a subsidiary of Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd., and REDgroup Retail Pty Ltd.

Short Covers has formally spun out from parent company Indigo Books & Music and will now operate under the name Kobo, Inc. with its retail website at www.kobobooks.com

“We have assembled a strong syndicate of investors and partners across key categories - retail and mobile distribution. We have a unique opportunity to power the eReading revolution by reaching consumers everywhere they shop today, on any device they choose,” said Michael Serbinis, Chief Executive Officer of Kobo.

According to Forrester Research, Inc., eBook content sales are up 176 percent in 2009 and in 2010 are expected to top $500 million in the U.S. alone. Forrester also sees a global eBook opportunity based on a recent Forrester survey of consumers in the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden.

Today, Kobo’s eReading service includes support for leading smartphones, desktops and dedicated eReaders. Since inception in February 2009, while operating as Shortcovers, more than one million eReading apps have been downloaded by users from over 200 countries worldwide. Kobo will extend its platform by launching additional smartphone support, desktop and tablet apps, and its own dedicated eReader devices.

Kobo has relationships with thousands of publishers and is actively adding book, newspaper and magazine publishers worldwide. With the announcement of a strategic partnership with the Internet Archive, Kobo’s catalog of digital content will give users access to over two million books, with bestsellers starting at US$9.99 and over 1.8 million free books.

Through its new strategic partners, Kobo has distribution in the U.S., Canada, UK, European Union, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and other territories. Core to Kobo’s strategy is making eReading available through partners everywhere and as such, the company will be working to enable a broad range of retailers, device manufacturers, and operators who will benefit from our leading eReading service.

“Our vision for a digital strategy that’s right for Borders is taking shape today through our investment in Kobo,” said Borders Group Chief Executive Officer Ron Marshall. “Powered by Kobo, we’ll launch a new eBook store on Borders.com and make Borders-branded mobile applications available to our customers, including our 35 million Borders Rewards loyalty program members. Borders shares Kobo’s vision to provide any eBook on any device and we look forward to working closely with Kobo on content and distribution.”

About Kobo, Inc.
Kobo is a global eReading service backed by majority shareholder Indigo Books & Music, Borders Group, REDgroup Retail, and Cheung Kong Holdings.

About Indigo Books & Music Inc.
Indigo is a publicly traded Canadian company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (IDG). As the largest book and specialty retailer in Canada, Indigo operates in all provinces under different banners including Indigo Books & Music; Indigo Books, Gifts, Kids; IndigoSpirit, Chapters, The World's Biggest Bookstore, and Coles.

About Borders Group
Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE: BGP) is a leading specialty retailer of books as well as other educational and entertainment items. The company employs approximately 25,000 throughout the U.S., primarily in its Borders® and Waldenbooks® stores. Online shopping is offered through borders.com. Find author interviews and vibrant discussions of the products we and our customers are passionate about online at facebook.com/borders, twitter.com/borders and youtube.com/bordersmedia. For more information about the company, visit borders.com/media.

Kirkus Book Reviews to Shut Down

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:46:00 +0000

NEW YORK,NY/AUTHORLINK NEWS/December 10, 2009--Kirkus Reviews, an icon in the publishing industry, is shutting down as part of Nielsen Business Media's sale of its business-to-business publications, it was reported today by PW. In addition, Nielsen will close Editor & Publisher magazine.

No other details have been released as yet.

e5 Global media Holdings has purchased several major Nielsen publications, including Adweek and The Hollywood Reporter.

Kirkus Reviews, founded in 1933, had reviewed about 5,000 titles per year. The reviews, written by professionals, were reliable and authoritative. Kirkus engaged the services of more than 100 freelance writers.

(Editor's Note: Authorlink.com continues to carry current book reviews on its site and has more than 1200 libraries as subscribers to its free service.)

Harlequin Responds to Mystery Writers on Self-Pub Fray

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 19:32:00 +0000

Harlequin Enterprises’ publisher Donna Hayes, responded today to a letter from the Mystery Writers of America in which the organization threatened to remove the publisher from much of its conference activities because of harlequin’s decision to sponsor a self publishing imprint together with Author Solutions. Hayes responded to MWA Board of Directors member-at-large Frankie Y. Bailey. Hayes’s response was posted on the MWA web site.

After Harlequin’s announcement of its new Harlequin Horizons self-publishing imprint drew heated reactions from the Romance Writers of America and Science Fiction/Fantasy Writers of America, Harlequin quickly renamed the imprint Dellarte Press, removing the Harlequin moniker.

The letter is reprinted here in its entirety.
Dear Ms. Bailey,

Thank you for your letter of November 30 and for the opportunity to address your concerns prior to your board meeting.

Harlequin takes its relationship with the Mystery Writers of America very seriously. In response to your letters, I would like to share our perspective on the changing book publishing industry and Harlequin's recent moves to keep pace with and lead innovation in our market. It is our hope that sharing our point of view will demonstrate our respect for the MWA and explain our motivation behind the launch of Dellarte Press.

Publishing models are changing and Harlequin needs to experiment within those models

We are sure you would agree that today's book publishing industry is undergoing significant transformation. "Mega trends" affecting the industry include, but are not limited to, the questions raised by Google surrounding ownership of copyright, the rise of eBooks as a viable commercial format, and the swell of user-generated content throughout the Internet. Amazon's growing influence in nearly all aspects of book publishing – from a book's conception to its ultimate delivery in a reader's mailbox – can be interpreted as a source of increasing pressure on traditional publishing models.

In the wake of these changes, self-publishing has emerged as a new force in the publishing industry, providing a forum for thousands of authors who would not secure a contract with traditional publishers. According to Bowker reports, 285,000 new titles and editions were self-published in the US last year, a number that exceeds the 275,000 titles published by traditional houses. Harlequin sees the rapid growth in self-published titles, up 132% since 2007, as validation that writers perceive self-publishing as a viable path to literary fulfillment. In recent weeks, Harlequin has heard from countless writers, either directly or via blogs, that self-publishing played an important, positive role in their writing careers. For example, Naleighna Kai, author of best-selling Every Woman Needs a Wife, posted the following in her November 28 blog entry:

"Self-publishing venues have made it easy for authors to get a book into print and into the hands of avid readers. There are a great deal of authors who started on that path and eventually swept into a lane which put them on the New York Times Best-seller's list. Case-in-point, the Romancing the Stone series written by Catherine Lanigan writing as Joan Wilder, was on the NY Times for several weeks, then eventually made into a movie. Robert T. Kiyosaki was turned down by several major houses before he published his own book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad, then hit it big on the NY Times list. Louise L. Hay's self-published book, You Can Heal Your Life, was on the NY Times list for thirteen consecutive weeks. She went on to publish other powerhouses such as Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra, Suze Orman, Doreen Virtue, Sandra Brown, Tavis Smiley and many others. And it goes to show that what's in, what's popular, what's perfect to publish with major houses is subjective."

"Self-publish, learn the industry, set some goals, build a name, then spread your wings. The people mentioned in this article inspired me to follow in their footsteps...I'm happy that I self-published first as it allowed me the opportunity to learn and grow."

Harlequin views its participation in Dellarte Press as an opportunity to participate in this space, supporting aspiring authors as they test the publishing waters. We feel compelled to respond to new publishing models and ensure that writers continue to see Harlequin as a leading publisher in the formats most relevant to them and their evolving readers.

Other publishers and writers associations are experimenting with self-publishing

Our competitors' recent moves into self-publishing (e.g., Harper Collins via Authonomy and Random House's past investment in Xlibris), encouraged us to look beyond our traditional publishing footprint. Given that Harlequin is a very small player relative to others in the Top 6 publisher ranks, doing otherwise would be foolish on our part. Fortunately, a number of writers' associations have been supportive of these experiments. We are not alone in our acceptance of self-publishing, as evidenced by the following statement from the American Christian Fiction Writers we received on November 22, 2009 with respect to our Steeple Hill imprint.

"So many of the large publishing houses are extending self-publishing imprints that the boards of the ACFW have been forward-thinkers regarding our ever-changing industry. Because of this, I'm happy to say that I've been assured that ACFW has rewritten their Book of the Year contest guidelines so that authors of Steeple Hill books will continue to be able to enter the contest. In addition, as ACFW Conference Director, I'm pleased to tell you that we welcome the Steeple Hill editors at our conference, and hope that all of you will be able to attend."

We are pleased that the International Thriller Writers association has also taken this view, as communicated to its members in the following recent statement:

"Although we don't plan to make a formal statement at this time, our position is that ITW doesn't intend to get involved in Harlequin's business. In addition, our members who are Harlequin/MIRA authors remain honored and valued ITW members with all the privileges and rights of membership. No ITW members are going to be expelled or denied awards because of actions taken by their publisher beyond their control--that would be contrary to our charter."

Amid the reaction from a small, but vocal, group of authors, it is easy to forget that Dellarte Press represents a small experiment relative to the size of the greater Harlequin organization. It may be worth noting that Ninc [Novelists, Inc., for multi-published authors] has elected to apply its membership criteria to specific publishing programs, not a publishing corporation as a whole. Specifically, Ninc informed us of the following change on November 24, 2009:

"As our Bylaws remain constant, we have amended the more detailed qualifications for membership, listed in the P&PM. These qualifications are now concerned not with the publishing corporation as a whole, but concentrated on the particular program within the corporate for which the current or prospective member writes novel length fiction."

Harlequin believes that its standing within writers' associations should reflect the 1,200 titles that we publish under traditional models each year and not a separate and distinct publishing arm that represents a very small portion of our activity.

We believe in informed choice for writers

We believe that writers are best served when they make informed choices. As such, Harlequin's rejection letter templates will soon be modified to encourage the author to consider the wide range of publishing options now available to aspiring authors including submitting to another house, resubmitting to Harlequin, ePublishing, self-publishing, or working with Dellarte Press.

In her November 18, 2009 article, Maddie James of the Romance Novel Examiner took the view that self-publishing rounds out a writer's available choices:

"Whether an author chooses traditional print publishing, a digital publishing press, or self-publishing, is totally up to the author. The author knows where they are in their career, how they want to move their career forward, and what steps to take to do so. It would be unwise to omit exploring all of the options."

Harlequin wishes to help expand this range of options, alternatives about which writers must be well informed before making decisions. We think that your membership would benefit from improved understanding of these options, in large part because they are not going away.

Harlequin has made substantial modifications to our Manuscript Critique Service and self-publishing programs

On November 9, 2009, Lee Goldberg, chair of your Membership Committee, expressed concerns about the Manuscript Critique Service referenced within eHarlequin.com's writing guidelines content. As of November 30, 2009, our Manuscript Critique Service is no longer available and does not appear alongside the writing guidelines featured on our website.

On the matter of our self-publishing program, we have responded to our authors' concerns by changing the program name so that it is clearly a separate business from Harlequin's traditional publishing programs.

Our request of the Mystery Writers of America

When your board meets to discuss Harlequin's standing with the Mystery Writers of America, we ask that you consider the following:

(a) the inevitable change sweeping through the book publishing industry

(b) the prevalence of self-publishing, a business model already pursued by our competitors, and the growing acceptance of its role on the part of several mainstream writers associations

(c ) the fact that Harlequin publishes 1200 titles per year under our traditional publishing programs, including many writers who are members of your association, and that we do not believe they should be excluded from full status because of a small, separate business line with which we are experimenting

(d) the opportunity for writers to make informed decisions about their publishing options

(e) the modifications that we have made recently to our publishing programs.

With this context in mind, we ask that Harlequin remain on the MWA list of approved publishers. If the MWA decides it cannot recognize Harlequin as an approved publisher at this time, we strongly encourage the MWA to retain Harlequin authors' eligibility for the 2010 awards while we continue this discussion, particularly because their books were published on a traditional platform before Dellarte Press launched. The Romance Writers of America has taken this position, a source of great relief to our writers. In addition, it may be helpful for you to know that the RWA board will discuss this matter in late January and you may wish to consider similar timing.

Thank you for the opportunity to share our view of the evolving book publishing industry and Harlequin's place within it. We hope to have provided useful insight into the innovations driving publishing forward and growing the presence of writers in the marketplace. While self-publishing represents a small experiment within Harlequin's much larger business, we are excited to offer talented writers a range of alternate paths to commercial success and personal fulfillment. I truly believe that we share a common goal of accelerating the careers of mystery writers, today and for many years to come.

Should you wish to hear more from Harlequin on this or any other matter, we would be pleased to cooperate in any way possible. Please let us know if you would find additional information on our publishing activities useful or if you would like me to speak with the Board and/or executive.

Sincerely,

Donna Hayes
Publisher and Chief Executive Officer, Harlequin Enterprises Ltd.

(Editor's Note: We welcome your comments)

Harlequin Changes Self-Pub Imprint Name

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:12:00 +0000

After widespread backlash from authors' organizations, Harlequin has changed the name of its new self-publishing imprint from Harlequin Horizons to DellArte Press, and does not mention the imprint on its website.

Harlequin publisher and CEO Donna Hayes said last week that the company would immediately rename Horizons in the wake of objections from Romance Writers of America and other writing organizations.

See more about the issue on this blog or on Authorlink.

Harlequin Self-Publishing Imprint Sparks Controversy

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:43:00 +0000

TORONTO (AUTHORLINK NEWS, November 23, 2009)--Harlequin, the world’s leading publisher of romance novels, has raised a firestorm over the launch of its new self-publishing imprint, Harlequin Horizons, in conjunction with Author Solutions, Inc. (ASI), the world’s leading self-publisher. Aspiring authors can now pay $599 to have their work published under the imprint.

In its announcement, Harlequin touted the self-publishing venture as “an accessible opportunity for emerging authors to bring themselves to the attention of the reading public.” But the move has caused outrage in the writing community.

The Romance Writers of America said it will bar Harlequin from favored-publisher privileges at next year's national convention, and the Science Fiction Writers of America issued a statement saying that no titles from any Harlequin imprint would qualify for membership in SFWA. " Mystery Writers of America also indicated it might take similar action, but will give Harlequin a month to answer questions, according to a statement on the SFWA site.

Donna Hayes, Publisher and CEO of Harlequin Enterprises, issued a statement today expressing disappointment that Romance Writers of America first approached is members over the issue rather than "allowing Harlequin to respond or engage in a discussion about it with the RWA board."

In response to the controversy, Ms. Hayes announced that "we are changing the name of the self-publishing company from Harlequin Horizons to a designation that will not refer to Harlequin in any way. We will initiate this process immediately."

Ms. Hayes said that “It is disappointing that the RWA has not recognized that publishing models have and will continue to change. As a leading publisher of women's fiction in a rapidly changing environment, Harlequin's intention is to provide authors access to all publishing opportunities, traditional or otherwise.”

(Editor's note: We welcome blog reader comments on this issue. See this and other news stories updated each Thursday on Authorlink.

Barnes and Noble Heads Off a Stock Takeover?

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:24:00 +0000

ADVANCE NEWS BREAK

New York, NY (Authorlink News, November 18, 2009)--Barnes & Noble’s board of directors yesterday approved the adoption of a Stockholder Rights Plan (the "Rights Plan") under which stockholders will receive rights to purchase shares of a new series of preferred stock in certain circumstances.
The new plan comes in the same week that Goldman Sachs reiterated its “Sell” rating on shares of Barnes & Noble stocks when American business billionaire Ron Burkle doubled his stake in the company from 8% to 17%. (See Goldman Sachs Leary of Barnes & Noble Stock)
The Board said in a press release that it adopted the Rights Plan “in response to the recent rapid accumulation of a significant portion of Barnes & Noble's outstanding common stock. The Rights Plan is intended to protect the Company and its stockholders from efforts to obtain control of the Company that are inconsistent with the best interests of the Company and its stockholders.”

Consistent with Barnes & Noble's commitment to good corporate governance, the rights will expire in three years and the Company intends to submit the Rights Plan for stockholder ratification within 12 months.

Under the terms of the Rights Plan, the rights will expire on November 17, 2012. The rights will be exercisable if a person or group, without Board approval, acquires 20% or more of Barnes & Noble's common stock or announces a tender offer which results in the ownership of 20% or more of Barnes & Noble's common stock. The rights also will be exercisable if a person or group that already owns 20% or more of Barnes & Noble common stock, without Board approval, acquires any additional shares (other than pursuant to Barnes & Noble's compensation or benefit plans). If the rights become exercisable, all rights holders (other than the person triggering the rights) will be entitled to acquire Barnes & Noble's common stock at a 50% discount.

The rights will trade with Barnes & Noble's common stock, unless and until they are separated upon the occurrence of certain future events. Barnes & Noble's Board may terminate the Rights Plan or redeem the rights prior to the time the rights are triggered. Further details of the Rights Plan will be contained in a Form 8-K to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world's largest bookseller and a Fortune 500 company, operates 774 bookstores in 50 states.

Justice Department Continues to Probe Google Settlement

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:58:00 +0000

The revised Google settlement submitted to Court this past Friday is not likely to end the fight over the case, according to The Wall Street Journal (November 16, 2009, p.B1).

The most recent revisions would allow Google to distribute millions of digital books online, but would cut the number of works covered by the settlement by at least half by removing millions of foreign titles.

At issue, however, is whether it is fair to let Google distribute books whose legal rights owners haven’t been identified—called orphan works.

The Justice Department had asked U.S. District Court Judge Denny Chin to delay a hearing until lawyers for Google, Inc., the Association of American Publishers and Authors Guild, who designed the settlement, addressed its concerns. According to The Journal, the Justice Department remains concerned over the fact that the settlement gives Google immunity from lawsuits related to orphan works, a practice that may be anticompetitive. The department is expected to file its reaction to the modified agreement by early next year.

The Justice Department told The Journal that the department is reviewing the revisions and that its investigation into the settlement is “on-going.”

The new settlement keeps the same structure, but makes a number of changes, including adding more pricing options to address concerns about potential price fixing, and clarifying what sort of services Google can offer related to digital books.

Judge Chin is expected this week to set a timetable for objections to the settlement’s modifications.

Waldenbooks to Downsize in 2010

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:47:00 +0000

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (Authorlink News, Nov. 5, 2009)—As part of Borders Group’s ongoing strategy to right-size its Waldenbooks Specialty Retail segment and emerge with a smaller, more profitable mall chain in fiscal 2010, the retailer will close approximately 200 mall stores in January, leaving approximately 130 mall-based locations open. A list of mall stores expected to close is included in this news release and has been posted at www.borders.com/waldenstorelist. The list is not final and is subject to change pending finalization of agreements over the coming weeks. Importantly, today’s announcement regarding the mall business does not include Borders superstores or the company’s seasonal mall kiosk business, which includes over 500 Day by Day Calendar Co. units, among other mall-based retail concepts.

“America has a number of malls that continue to do well and draw customer traffic even in the current economy,” said Borders Group Chief Executive Officer Ron Marshall. “We believe there remains an opportunity to profitably operate a much smaller Waldenbooks segment that complements our core Borders superstore business and continues to serve readers in their communities. Through this right-sizing, we will reduce the number of stores with operating losses, reduce our overall rent expense and lease-adjusted leverage and generate cash flow through sales and working capital reductions.”

As long as the stores remain open, all will honor previously purchased gift cards, and gift cards can continue to be used in any Borders or Waldenbooks location or online at Borders.com. There will be no change in member status for customers who joined the Borders Rewards customer loyalty program at locations slated to close.

Stores that remain open will be integrated into the Borders superstore computer system, an investment Borders Group is making to merge all stores to a single platform. This is expected to produce operating efficiencies as well as benefits for mall shoppers, including enhanced store staff capabilities to search for and fulfill customer requests.

With the store closings in January, approximately 1,500 positions—the majority of which are part-time jobs—will be eliminated. Employees have been informed of the right-sizing plan and efforts will be made to place qualified individuals in other positions within Borders Group. Displaced employees will receive severance.

The mall-based right-sizing initiative has been ongoing at Borders Group for a number of years as the retailer has closed underperforming Waldenbooks Specialty Retail stores annually as part of its overall turnaround strategy. The company shuttered 112 stores in the segment in fiscal 2008 and from fiscal 2001 through 2007, closed an average of 66 stores per year within the Waldenbooks Specialty Retail segment.

About Borders Group, Inc.
Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE: BGP) is a leading specialty retailer of books as well as other educational and entertainment items. The company employs approximately 25,000 throughout the U.S., primarily in its Borders® and Waldenbooks® stores.

Steve Rubin Named President and Publisher of Holt

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:58:00 +0000

NEW YORK, NY (AUTHORLINK NEWS, October 27, 2009)-- Stephen Rubin, the former publisher-at-large at Random House, has been named president and publisher of Henry Holt & Company, a division of Macmillan publishing, it was announced today by Macmillan CEO John Sargent. Rubin succeeds Dan Farley, who will now exclusively oversee Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group. Both men will report to Sargent.

Rubin, 67, had stepped down from the Random House Doubleday imprint which underwent restructuring last December. He had served for the past seven months as publisher-at-large of Random House, where he worked closely with authors including Dan Brown, John Grisham, Pat Conroy and Bill Moyers.
Dan Farley had been leading Holt since February 2008 when the previous president and publisher, John Sterling departed.
In a media statement, Rubin said he plans to publish books "that bridge the gap between commercial and literature. I believe that Holt is the perfect place to do this, given that its sister companies are the distinguished Farrar Straus and the powerhouse St. Martin's Press." Rubin also said he was eager to "develop a tight, powerful focused list."

While at Doubleday/Broadway, Rubin was called “the expansionist publisher.” He used the company’s riches amassed from The Da Vinci Code (and A Million Little Pieces) to keep the business growing in a downsizing era.

Rubin had spent his entire twenty-six year career at Random House and its predecessor companies and divisions. For fifteen years, until December 2008, he was President and Publisher of Doubleday and later the Doubleday Broadway Publishing Group. Prior to that, he was Executive Editor and Publisher and Editor-in-Chief at Bantam Books in the eighties, and the London-based former Chairman of the Transworld U.K. division.

Privately-owned Macmillan Publishers Ltd, with over 7000 staff operating in more than 80 countries, is held by Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck, based in Stuttgart, Germany. Macmillan is one of the largest and best known international publishing groups in the world, with divisions in the USA and UK.

The US group includes Farrar Straus and Giroux, Henry Holt & Company, W.H. Freeman and Worth Publishers, Palgrave Macmillan, Bedford/St. Martin’s, Picador, Roaring Brook Press, St. Martin’s Press, Tor Books, and Bedford Freeman & Worth Publishing Group.

B&N Announces Long-Awaited E-Reader at Frankfurt

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:58:00 +0000

Frankfurt, Germany (Authorlink News, October 19, 2009)--Barnes & Noble announced at the Frankfurt Book Fair this past week that it will introduce its own dedicated eBook reader that will run its e-book applications, in partnership with Plastic Logic. Video report.

The touch-screen reader is reportedly “the size of a trade paperback book and will feature full color,” and will be available by April 2010. Barnes & Noble is still tight-lipped about the cost of the reader, but some say it will range between $199 and $800.

A Fair spokesman for Barnes & Noble said the as-yet-unnamed B&N e-reader will “allow the user to comfortably read for hours,” unlike reading on an iPhone or other smart phone, which he said are suitable only for short periods of time.
The Barnes and Nobles e-reader project, according to the blog Gizmodo, has been under development for years, with several devices of varying size and capability in the pipeline. The B&N device will reportedly have two screens, one a monochrome e-ink screen like the Kindle—and a multi-touch display similar to an iPhone underneath the other.

B&N’s partner, Plastic Logic, is a spin-off company from Cambridge University's Cavendish Laboratory and specializes in polymer transistors and electronics. The principal product the company has developed is a flexible A4-size and robust plastic electronic display the thickness of a credit-card. It will be the core part of its own upcoming eReader. The headquarters of Plastic Logic is in Cambridge, United Kingdom. A factory for the mass-production of the display units was opened on September 17th 2008 in Dresden, Germany.

Plastic Logic plans to release its own QUE proReader in January 2010. It is intended as a replacement for paper, allowing electronic documents to be transported and read just like paper documents. It will have a thickness of less than 7 mm, a form factor of 8.5" x 11" and a weight of less than 16 oz (453 grams). It will be capable of displaying MS Office documents (Excel, PowerPoint, Word), PDF files and others.
The so-called “proReader” will have some stiff competition against a host of e-readers, including what may be the first Google Android-based e-reader.
Some say the e-reader could be on the market in time for the Christmas selling season. Barnes & Noble's entry into the e-reader fray adds another major player to the mix-- and one that has its own book distribution to compete with Amazon and the Kindle.

The as-yet-un-named Barnes & Noble device will supposedly be built on a Google Android operating system, and will feature all titles in Google’s huge book search program.

Grove Atlantic to Sell Shares in Atlantic Books

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:27:00 +0000

NEW YORK, NY (AUTHORLINK NEWS, October 14, 2009)—Grove/ Atlantic, Inc., (GAI) New York-based independent publishing house, is selling a portion of its UK-based subsidiary, Atlantic Books, to Australian publisher Allen & Unwin, and has secured additional new financing to support the UK operation.

The Australian publisher will become a significant new shareholder in the publisher, and the additional funding will be used to develop its new fiction imprint, Corvus, which plans to increase its output to 48 titles in 2010.

Under the new structure, GAI will no longer be the parent company for Atlantic Books. Instead, GAI will take minority shareholder position in the UK unit.

Anthony Cheetham was named director of the Corvus imprint in September. Chairman and publisher Toby Mundy said both he and Cheetham "may invest in due course".

A raft of changes at Atlantic will also see independent Australian publisher Allen & Unwin becoming what Atlantic described as “a significant new shareholder" in the publisher, while Atlantic said it had also secured “substantial" additional new financing. Part of this will be used to develop its new fiction imprint Corvus, which will increase its publishing programme to 48 titles a year in 2010.

Mundy said: "Atlantic Books has prospered within the Independent Alliance and it remains an important part of our world; now the business is strengthened significantly by these new relationships with Allen & Unwin and Grove/Atlantic, the finest independent publishers in Australia and the United States.

"With my outstanding colleagues here, and partners around the world, I think we are well placed for the next phase of the company's growth."

Morgan Entrekin, the CEO of GAI, will continue to sit on the board of Atlantic Books. Ravi Mirchandani has joined the Atlantic board in his current role as editor-in-chief.

Grove/Atlantic, Inc., one of America’s oldest independent publishers, was formed by the 1983 merger of Grove Press and Atlantic Monthly Press. Grove/Atlantic's imprints (Grove Press, Atlantic Monthly Press, Canongate U.S., Black Cat, and Open City) publish literary fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, and translations.

The British subsidiary, Atlantic Books, was founded in 2000, and is a member of The Independent Alliance, a global alliance of ten UK publishers and their international partners.

Allen & Unwin is Australia's leading independent publisher and has been voted "Publisher of the Year" eight times including the inaugural award in 1992 and six times since 2000.

A&U publishes around 250 new titles each year including literary and commercial fiction, a broad range of general non-fiction, academic and professional titles and books for children and young adults. Imprints include Allen & Unwin, Arena, Crows Nest, Inspired Living (MBS) and Jacana (Natural History). The company is headquartered in Sydney.

German Book Prize Bypasses Nobel Winner

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:28:00 +0000

STOCKHOLM (Authorlink News, October 15, 2009)—The announcement last week that Herta Mueller, a little-known Romanian-born author persecuted for her critical depictions of life behind the Iron Curtain, had won the 2009 Nobel Prize in literature, has drawn a mixture of criticism and praise from various observers. A Monday announcement showing Mueller had been passed over for the German Book Prize added to the controversy.

Mueller's latest novel, ''Atemschaukel,'' or ''Swinging Breath'' was short listed for this year's German Book Prize. But Kathrin Schmidt, age 51, was honored for her novel "You're Not Going to Die," the story of a woman who wakes up in a hospital after a coma unable to speak or move or remember her former life.

Mueller, a member of Romania's ethnic German minority, was honored with the Nobel for work that ''with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, depicts the landscape of the dispossessed,'' the Swedish Academy said.

The decision fueled controversy surrounding the Swedish Academy's pattern of awarding the prize to European writers. Peter Englund, the permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, told The Associated Press this week that the secretive Swedish Academy had been too ''eurocentric'' in picking winners.

His predecessor, Horace Engdahl, stirred up heated emotions across the Atlantic when he told the AP in 2008 that ''Europe still is the center of the literary world'' and the quality of U.S. writing was dragged down because authors were ''too sensitive to trends in their own mass culture.''

After Mueller was announced, he told the media that ''If you are European (it is) easier to relate to European literature. It's the result of psychological bias that we really try to be aware of. It's not the result of any program.''

The 56-year-old Mueller, published her first work in 1982 with a collection of short stories titled ''Niederungen,'' or ''Nadirs,'' depicting the harshness of life in a small, German-speaking village in Romania. The communist government quickly censored it.

In 1984 an uncensored version was smuggled to Germany, where it was published and devoured by readers. That work was followed by ''Oppressive Tango'' in Romania but she was eventually blocked from publishing inside her country for her criticism of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu's rule and its feared secret police.

Much of Mueller's work is in German, but some works have been translated into English, French and Spanish, including ''The Passport,'' ''The Land of Green Plums,'' ''Traveling on One Leg'' and ''The Appointment.'' She is the 12th woman to win the Nobel Prize in literature.

The New York Times’s Art Beat quoted several bloggers’ mixed reactions to the Noble prize:

“Another obscure author honored while far better writers remain unrecognized. It is time to abolish the Nobel Prize for Literature! — HS
“Congratulations to the winner that many of us well-read Americans have never heard of. Let’s hope this spurs some of her work being translated into English so a wider audience can read her. Thanks to the hard work of translators we’ve enjoyed Haruki Murakami and Roberto Bolano. — Fjorder
“Why is this award a great idea? Because Müller is a very good writer, of course, dealing with one of the most terrible of the 20th century political regimes (Ceausescu’s Romania). And awarding the prize to her is, at the same time, awarding it to all writers from eastern Europe who raised voice against communist dictatures. — O. Bondy
“Wake up: the age of Americans winning the Nobel has long been over. It has nothing to do with quality of literature, but with geopolitics. — nme”

The German Book Prize is presented to the best German-language novel just before the start of the Frankfurt Book Fair as an annual award from the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels Stifung – the Foundation of the German Publishers & Booksellers Association. The Prize is intended to draw attention beyond national borders to authors writing in German, to reading and to the keynote medium of the book.
Among those on the short list for the 2009 German prize were:

Rainer Merkel: “Light Years Away” (Lichtjahre Entfernt), S. Fischer Verlag
Herta Müller: “Everything I Own I Carry With Me” (Atemschaukel), Suhrkamp Verlag
Norbert Scheuer: “The Rushing of the Weir” (Überm Rauschen), C.H.Beck Verlag
Katrin Schmidt: You’re Not Going to Die (Du Stirbst Nicht), Kiepenheuer & Witsch Verlag
Clemens J. Setz: “Frequencies” (Die Frequenzen), Residenz Verlag
Stephan Thome : “Border Walk” (Grenzgang), Suhrkamp Verlag

The judges for the German Book Prize 2009 are: Richard Kämmerlings, Michael Lemling, Martin Lüdke, Lothar Müller, Iris Radisch, Daniela Strigl and Hubert Winkels. The winner was announced at the award ceremony on October 12th.

Who selects the Nobel Laureates? In his last will and testament, Alfred Nobel, scientist, inventor, entrepreneur, author and pacifist, specifically designated the institutions responsible for the prizes he wished to be established: The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for the Nobel Prize in Physics and Chemistry, Karolinska Institute for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, the Swedish Academy for the Nobel Prize in Literature, and a Committee of five persons to be elected by the Norwegian Parliament (Storting) for the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1968, the Sveriges Riksbank established the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economics in Memory of Alfred Nobel. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences was given the task to select the Economics Prize Laureates starting in 1969.

Book Publishing Sales Post Gains in July

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:00:00 +0000

New York, NY (Authorlink News, September 23, 2009)— Book sales tracked by the Association of American Publishers (AAP) for the month of July increased by 2.0 percent at $1.54 billion and were up by 1.9 percent for the year.

The Adult Hardcover category was up by 6.9 percent in July with sales of $88.7 million; year-to-date sales were down by 15.5 percent. Adult Paperback sales increased 9.0 percent for the month ($124.0 million) but decreased by 11.2 percent for the year. The Adult Mass Market category was down 13.5 percent for July with sales totaling $68.2 million; sales were down by 5.3 percent year-to-date. The Children’s/YA Hardcover category decreased by 5.4 percent for the month with sales of $55.8 million, but sales for year-to-date were up by 22.2 percent. The Children’s/YA Paperback category was up by 4.1 percent in July with sales totaling $58.2 million; sales increased by 2.0 percent for the year.

Audio Book sales posted an increase of 3.5 percent in July with sales totaling $11.7 million; sales to-date decreased by 29.9 percent. E-books sales reached $16.2 million, reflecting a 213.5 percent increase for July, and a 173.9 percent year to-date. Religious Books saw a decrease of 9.3 percent for the month with sales totaling $42.4 million; sales were down by 8.1 percent for the year.

Sales of University Press Hardcover books reflected a 15.1 percent decrease in July with sales of $5.2 million; sales decreased by 8.6 percent for the year. University Press Paperback sales posted a decrease of 3.2 percent for the month with sales totaling $8.8 million; sales were down 5.5 percent for the year. Sales in the Professional and Scholarly category were up by 13.2 percent in July ($117.7 million) but decreased by 2.3 percent for the year.

Higher Education publishing sales rose by 0.9 percent for the month ($941.5 million) and increased 19.0 percent for the year. Finally, the net El-Hi (elementary/high school) basal and supplemental K-12 category posted a decrease of 32.2 percent in July with sales of $675.9 million; the category was down by 27.6 percent for the year.
The Association of American Publishers is the national trade association of the U.S. book publishing industry. AAP’s more than 300 members include most of the major commercial publishers in the United States, as well as smaller and non-profit publishers, university presses and scholarly societies—small and large. AAP members publish hardcover and paperback books in every field, educational materials for the elementary, secondary, postsecondary, and professional markets, scholarly journals, computer software, and electronic products and services. The protection of intellectual property rights in all media, the defense of the freedom to read and the freedom to publish at home and abroad, and the promotion of reading and literacy are among the Association’s highest priorities.

NOTE: All sales figures cited in this release are domestic net sales

Government Urges Court to Reject Google Settlement

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:59:00 +0000

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Authorlink News, Septemer 21, 2009)--The Department of Justice today advised the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that while it should not accept the class action settlement in The Authors Guild Inc. et al. v. Google Inc. as proposed due to concerns of the United States regarding class action, copyright and antitrust law, the parties should be encouraged to continue their productive discussions to address those concerns. In its statement of interest filed with the court, the Department stated:

"Given the parties’ express commitment to ongoing discussions to address concerns already raised and the possibility that such discussions could lead to a settlement agreement that could legally be approved by the Court, the public interest would best be served by direction from the Court encouraging the continuation of those discussions between the parties and, if the Court so chooses, by some direction as to those aspects of the Proposed Settlement that need to be improved. Because a properly structured settlement agreement in this case offers the potential for important societal benefits, the United States does not want the opportunity or momentum to be lost."

In its filing, the Department proposed that the parties consider a number of changes to the agreement that may help address the United States’ concerns, including imposing limitations on the most open-ended provisions for future licensing, eliminating potential conflicts among class members, providing additional protections for unknown rights holders, addressing the concerns of foreign authors and publishers, eliminating the joint-pricing mechanisms among publishers and authors, and, whatever the settlement’s ultimate scope, providing some mechanism by which Google’s competitors can gain comparable access.
The settlement agreement between Google and the authors and publishers aims to resolve copyright infringement claims brought against Google by the Authors Guild and five major publishers in 2005 raised by Google’s efforts to digitally scan books contained in several libraries and make them searchable on the Internet. The District Court’s hearing on the proposed settlement is scheduled to take place on October 7, 2009.

Google, the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers said they will consider the points raised by the Justice Department, and will address them as court proceedings continue.

European opponents to the settlement have called for the EU to investigate the proposed deal, charging it will allow Google to dominate the digital books industry. " A group of opponents, including Microsoft-backed ICOMP and the German publishers and booksellers association, says the settlement is unacceptable in its present form and violates the rights of copyright holders and authors. The group also said the settlement will lead to a de facto monopoly.

Hachette Livre, Lightning Source Team Up on POD

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:06:00 +0000

PARIS (Authorlink News, September 15, 2009)--Hachette Livre of France, the world’s second largest publisher of trade books, and Lightning Source Inc., an Ingram Content Group company, have entered into a joint venture to offer print-on-demand (POD) services to the French book market.

Lightning Source, the leading provider of POD services, enhances book sales for publishers with innovative, low cost and minimum risk printing solutions. The new POD operation announced today will be located at Hachette Livre’s distribution facility in Maurepas, near Paris, and is expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2010.

Phase 1 of the joint venture will enable Hachette to vastly extend the range of services it makes available to both Hachette-controlled publishing houses and to third party customers of its distribution facility. With the successful completion of Phase 1, Phase 2 of the joint venture will be launched giving independent publishers the option to participate in the POD program, regardless of ownership or distribution contracts.

The two companies have already identified many thousands of titles from Hachette owned publishing companies as POD candidates, based upon not only their physical characteristics but also their sales profile. In addition, the new venture holds out the promise of bringing titles back into print that have been lost to the market for many years.

Arnaud Nourry, Chairman and CEO of Hachette Livre, said: “The joint venture with Lightning Source in France is a strategic move that will allow Hachette to make leading edge digital technology available to all its business partners, no matter how small. Its implications are considerable. No book entered into the program will ever be out of print. The turnaround between incoming order and shipping is so short that copies can be delivered to point of sale as fast as if they were pulled from inventory, and mint-like in terms of quality. It is the perfect solution for low volume backlist and out-of-print books. At a time when “out of print” books are the subject of much attention, POD offers a convincing solution. I am delighted we could partner with the world’s leader in this technology, and look forward to a long, successful relationship.”

John R. Ingram, Chairman of Ingram Content Group Inc., said the joint venture is a significant step forward in the company’s international expansion. Lightning Source serves more than 9,000 publishers worldwide and prints some 1.4 million books each month.

“We have had a terrific working relationship with Hachette, both in the U.S. and U.K. for many years, and are extremely delighted to strengthen both of our businesses through this joint venture in Hachette’s home market,” Mr. Ingram said.

David “Skip” Prichard, President and CEO of Ingram Content Group, said: “We are very excited about this innovative partnership with Hachette. It allows us to build out our globally distributed print capabilities in one of the largest book markets in Europe, and to bring the huge financial and cultural benefits that print-on-demand offers to the French book market.”

“Print-on-demand is about so much more than just printing books,” Mr. Prichard continued. “The on-demand model is revolutionizing the very manner in which books are being published and distributed.”

ABOUT HACHETTE LIVRE

Hachette Livre, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lagardère SCA, is the world’s second largest trade book publisher with sales of €2,159 million ($3.175 million). It is #1 in France, #1 in the UK, #2 in Spain and #5 in the USA. It publishes over 17,000 new titles a year under more than one hundred different imprints in a dozen languages, but mainly in French, English and Spanish. It covers all segments of trade publishing: General fiction and non-fiction, mass market pocket books, books for young readers, illustrated books, travel guides, school books, as well as partworks. Its headquarters are in Paris, France. Visit the web site at www.hachette.com

ABOUT LIGHTNING SOURCE

Lightning Source Inc. is part of Ingram Content Group Inc. which provides a broad range of physical and digital services to the book industry. Ingram’s operating units are Ingram Book Company, Lightning Source Inc., Ingram Digital, Ingram Periodicals Inc., Ingram International Inc., Ingram Library Services Inc., Spring Arbor Distributors Inc., Ingram Publisher Services Inc., Tennessee Book Company LLC, Coutts Information Services, and Ingram Marketing Group Inc. For more information, visit www.lightningsource.com and www.ingramcontent.com

Borders Q2 Sales Fall Sharply, Debts Slashed

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:19:00 +0000

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AUTHORLINK NEWS, August 25, 2009)—Borders Group today reported a 17.7% drop in sales for the second quarter ended August 1, 2009, compared to the same period a year ago. Total consolidated sales were $616.8 million.
Comparable store sales declined by 17.9% and 10.8% at Borders superstores and Waldenbooks Specialty Retail stores, respectively. Excluding multimedia, comparable store sales at Borders declined by 13.0%.

On an operating basis, the company generated a loss from continuing operations of $12.7 million compared to a loss of $10.5 million a year ago. On a GAAP basis, the loss from continuing operations was $45.6 million compared to a loss of $11.3 million a year ago.

On the brighter side, Borders reduced its debt by 42.5% ($179.3 million) at the end of the second quarter to $242.5 million. However, inventory was also reduced by $201.3 million, and multimedia inventory was reduced by $57.3 million.

“The second quarter was a transitional one as we made significant space and inventory reductions to strategically position declining categories for profitability while further developing businesses that have potential,” said Borders Group Chief Executive Officer Ron Marshall. “While this transition impacted sales in the short run, our stores are now better positioned to drive improved sales in the back half of the year. Further, we are pleased that even with the level of transformation we undertook in the second quarter, our financial disciplines remained intact and we continued to strengthen our balance sheet by cutting debt, generating positive cash flow, reducing inventory and tightly managing working capital. The big changes for the year are behind us now and the challenge is to deliver on the opportunity we have created to drive sales.”

Two Borders superstores were closed in the second quarter, ending the period with 513 locations.

Waldenbooks Specialty Retail
Total sales in the second quarter within the Waldenbooks Specialty Retail segment were $74.5 million, a 23.1% decline compared to the same period in 2008 as the number of stores was decreased to 370 at the end of the second quarter this year compared to 468 stores that were open at the close of the same period a year ago. The company closed six Waldenbooks locations in the second quarter of this year. Comparable store sales in the second quarter at Waldenbooks decreased by 10.8%.

On an operating basis, the segment generated an operating loss of $2.9 million in the second quarter compared to an operating loss of $6.7 million for the same period in 2008. On a GAAP basis, the segment generated a second quarter operating loss of $3.1 million compared to an operating loss of $7.7 million for the same period in 2008.

International
Total sales within the International segment (which consists primarily of Paperchase) totaled $28.7 million in the second quarter, which is down by 5.6% compared to a year ago. Excluding the impact of foreign currency translation, segment sales increased by 10.4% for the period.

Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE: BGP) is a leading retailer of books, music and movies with more than 25,000 employees. Through its subsidiaries, the company operates approximately 1,000 stores worldwide primarily under the Borders® and Waldenbooks® brand names. For online shopping, visit Borders.com.

Barnes & Noble Sales Decline

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 16:07:00 +0000

NEW YORK,NY(AUTHORLINK NEWS, August 20, 2009) - Barnes & Noble, Inc. today reported a 5% decrease in total sales to $1.2 billion for the second quarter ended August 1, 2009, compared to the prior year.

Store sales decreased 5% to $1.0 billion, with comparable store sales decreasing 6.9% for the quarter, within the Company's guidance for a decrease of 5% to 7%.

Barnes & Noble.com sales were $102 million for the quarter, a 2% increase compared to the prior year.

Second quarter net earnings were $12.3 million, or $0.21 per share, including a $4 million cash tax benefit from an insurance settlement.

Bestselling titles during the quarter included Janet Evanovich's Finger Lickin' Fifteen, Kathryn Stockett's The Help, Daniel Silva's The Defector, Sophie Kinsella's Twenties Girl, and Dick Morris's Catastrophe.

"Due to strong expense management and improved gross margins we achieved earnings per share near the high-end of guidance. While the decline in retail traffic continues to be the principal impediment to our top line, we do offer our customers the ability to shop with us online, where sales were slightly above last year," said Steve Riggio, chief executive officer of Barnes & Noble, Inc. "We remain focused on
working capital management, which resulted in solid free cash flow and no borrowings on our credit facility for the second quarter."

For the third quarter, the company expects comparable store sales at Barnes & Noble stores to decline 1% to 3%. The company continues to expect full-year comparable store sales to decline 3% to 5%.

On August 10, 2009, the company announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Barnes & Noble College Booksellers. The acquisition is expected to close on or about October 1, 2009, at which point the company plans to issue updated guidance for the balance of the year.

As of August 1, 2009, the company operated 724 Barnes & Noble stores and 50 B. Dalton stores. During the second quarter, one Barnes & Noble store was opened and three were closed. One B. Dalton store was closed during the quarter.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. will report third quarter results on or about November 19, 2009.

ASJA Opposes Google Settlement

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:01:00 +0000

American Society of Journalists and Authors joins many others to oppose Google settlement. Don't sign into the settlement yet. Full story Thursday at Authorlink.com.
Full story Thursday, August 20 at www.authorlink.com

PUBLISHERS OPPOSE DENIAL OF FIRST AMENDMENT PROTECTION TO SPEECH BASED ON ITS “VALUE”

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 23:52:00 +0000

Washington, DC/Authorlink News/July 27, 2009--The Association of American Publishers (AAP), joined by librarians, authors, booksellers and a range of content providers and distributors, has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reject arguments by the government that a whole category of speech can be denied First Amendment protection when the legislature finds the “value” of the speech to be outweighed by the government’s interest in suppressing it. AAP’s arguments were put forward in an amicus brief filed today in U.S. v. Stevens, a case being characterized as the most important First Amendment litigation since the Communications Decency Act challenge.

At issue is a federal statute (18 U.S.C. § 48) that prohibits the creation, sale or possession of “a depiction of animal cruelty” with “the intention of placing that depiction in interstate or foreign commerce for commercial gain,” if the act depicted is illegal where the depiction is created, sold, or possessed with intent to sell. The law provides an exception for depictions having “serious” value. It should be noted that acts of animal cruelty are already illegal in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Robert J. Stevens, a dog-trainer, pit bull aficionado and resident of Virginia was indicted under the statute by a federal grand jury in Pennsylvania, and was convicted and sentenced to 37 months in prison for selling educational videos containing footage of pit bulls fighting and attacking other animals. Stevens did not create the footage: some of it was 30-years old and other footage came from Japan where dog fighting is legal. Stevens’ conviction was overturned in an en banc ruling by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, which held the statute unconstitutional. The Third Circuit rejected the government’s argument that depictions of animal cruelty should be excluded from First Amendment protection as a means of preventing acts of animal cruelty and “desensitization” to such acts, and held that there was no compelling government interest in banning speech to compensate for under-enforcement of existing animal cruelty laws. It further ruled that the “serious value” exception did not render the law constitutional.

The amicus brief filed today points out that despite the Government’s “false assurance” that the statute is limited to animal-fighting and so-called “crush” videos, the law is far broader on its face, and would put at risk creators of a wide range of mainstream materials, including illustrated books, films, or magazine articles graphically depicting such subjects as slaughterhouse practices, bullfighting, or poaching. “Such defendants would escape conviction only if the depictions were found to have ‘serious’ value, which the trial court in this case interpreted as requiring a showing of ‘significant and great import’...a standard it is easy to imagine any number of films and other images not meeting,” the brief argues.

Among the groups joining AAP on the brief are the Freedom to Read Foundation, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, PEN American Center, the Entertainment Merchants Association, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, and the Independent Film and Television Alliance.

The amicus brief, which can be found online at http://www.publishers.org/main/PressCenter/Archicves/documents/Finalamicusbrief.pdf, was written by R. Bruce Rich and Jonathan Bloom (Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP), counsel to the AAP Freedom to Read Committee. The amicus effort was organized by Media Coalition.

The Association of American Publishers is the national trade association of the U.S. book publishing industry. AAP’s approximately 300 members include most of the major commercial book publishers in the United States, as well as smaller and non-profit publishers, university presses and scholarly societies. The Association represents an industry whose very existence depends upon the free exercise of rights guaranteed by the First Amendment.

Nichols Named Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publisher

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:56:00 +0000

BOSTON & NEW YORK (BUSINESS WIRE, July 22, 2009) --Gary Gentel, president of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Trade & Reference Division, announced today that Bruce Nichols has been appointed senior vice president and publisher of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Adult & Reference Group.

In this role, Nichols will direct all Houghton Mifflin Harcourt trade and reference adult publishing, which includes trade hardcover, cookbooks and trade paperback programs including Mariner Books, field guides and reference.

"Nichols is widely recognized in the industry for his leadership, innovation and keen editorial judgment, and his ability to find topics and writers that attract national attention," says Gentel. "We want to build on our legacy, but also look to the future, and I'm thrilled to have Bruce guide our adult and reference programs."
In his two years at HarperCollins, Nichols served as publisher of Collins and Collins Reference. Bestsellers there include Alex & Me by Irene Pepperberg, Russell Brand's My Booky Wook and Bill Russell's Red and Me. Prior to that he was vice president and executive editor at the Free Press where he worked for 15 years. His authors include Daniel Tammet, Pervez Musharraf, Francis Collins, Richard Clarke, Ron Powers, James Risen and Lee Eisenberg.

"Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's list, from front to back, is distinguished, significant and literary," says Nichols. "I am tremendously excited by the chance to work with the talented team there, and with such wonderful authors."

Adds Gentel, "In a happy historical coincidence, it turns out Bruce's grandfather, Stephen W. Grant, spent his entire career at Houghton Mifflin, from 1931â€“1973, serving as the Company's president from 1963â€“1973."

Nichols will start at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt on August 3 and will be based in the New York office.

About Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Trade & Reference Division

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Trade & Reference Division publishes adult, juvenile and reference books. Its award-winning and bestselling adult titles encompass literary fiction and a broad spectrum of nonfiction in hardcover, paperback and electronic books including the Mariner Books line of trade paperbacks. Among the adult brands are JRR Tolkien titles and The Best American Series. The adult group also publishes cookbooks and fields guides, including the Peterson Field Guides. Its reference titles include the American Heritage family of dictionaries. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Book Group encompasses three award-winning imprints as well as the Graphia and Sandpiper paperback lines: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, Clarion Books and Harcourt Children's Books.

B&N Launches “Every Device” eBook Store

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 20:34:00 +0000

NEW YORK, NY (AUTHORLINK NEWS, July 20, 2009)--Barnes & Noble, Inc. announced today the launch of the Barnes & Noble eBookstore (www.bn.com/ebooks), the world’s largest eBookstore, on Barnes & Noble.com (www.bn.com), enabling customers to buy eBooks and read them on a wide range of platforms, including the iPhone and iPod touch, BlackBerry^®smartphones, as well as most Windows^® and Mac^® laptops or full-sized desktop computers. In addition, Barnes & Noble announced that it will be the exclusive eBookstore provider on the forthcoming and much anticipated Plastic Logic eReader device.

Barnes & Noble’s launch encompasses:

Barnes & Noble’s eBookstore offering its customers seamless access to more than 700,000 titles, including hundreds of new releases and bestsellers at only $9.99, making it the world’s largest selection of eBooks available in one place. The company expects that its selection will increase to well over one million titles within the next year, inclusive of every available eBook from every book publisher and every available eBook original, which is a fast growing marketplace.
More than a half-million public domain books from Google, which can be downloaded for free. Readers can discover and explore this rich treasure trove, including everything from classic works by well-known writers to long-forgotten and obscure titles that are historically much harder to access.
An upgraded version of its eReader application, which was part of the company's Fictionwise acquisition earlier this year. This device-agnostic eBook application supports both wireless and wired access to the new Barnes & Noble eBookstore. Millions of internet-enabled devices are currently supported by eReader, including the nation’s two leading smartphone device families from Apple and BlackBerry^®, as well as most Windows^® and Mac^® laptops or full-sized computers.
First-time users of the eReader will have the opportunity to download free eBooks, including titles such as Merriam-Webster's Pocket Dictionary, Sense and Sensibility, Little Women, Last of the Mohicans, Pride and Prejudice, and Dracula. See site for further details.
A strategic commerce and content partnership with Plastic Logic, whose eReader device is especially designed for business professionals. Barnes & Noble will power the eBookstore for the Plastic Logic eReader device. The ultra thin 8.5 x 11 inch wireless eReader is slated to debut in early 2010.
The free, full-featured B&N Bookstore app for iPhone and iPod touch users, which is now the #1 downloaded book app in Apple’s App Store. In addition to enabling customers to easily place orders for books, movies, and CDs, the app also lets users search millions of products simply by snapping a photo. Using the iPhone’s camera, customers can snap a photo of the front cover and within seconds get product details, editorial reviews, and customer ratings – even find and reserve a copy in the nearest store. The app also includes a store locator, bestseller lists, book recommendations, and a store events calendar.

“Today marks the first phase of our digital strategy, which is rooted in the belief that readers should have access to the books in their digital library from any device, from anywhere, at any time,” said William J. Lynch, President of BN.com. “As America’s #1 bookstore and newsstand, our goal at Barnes & Noble is to build a service that revolves around the customer, enabling them to have access to hundreds of thousands of titles and read on their smartphone, PC, and many other existing and future devices. We want to make eBooks simple, accessible, affordable and convenient for everyone.”

More About the eReader Application

Designed with the reader in mind, Barnes & Noble eReader client software provides an easy-to- use interface to access the Barnes & Noble eBookstore and to manage their personal eBook libraries. It features powerful tools to optimize the reading experience, including the ability to modify type size and font and annotate and bookmark text, as well as an innovative auto-scroll feature enabling users hands free reading. In addition, users will have the added convenience afforded by true eBook portability, allowing them to access their eBooks from any of their eBook software-equipped devices, so that, for example, they can shift from reading their eBook from a smartphone while commuting to a notebook PC or eReader device at bedtime.

For information on free downloads go to www.bn.com/ebooks

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world’s largest bookseller and a Fortune 500 company, operates 777 bookstores in 50 states.

Book Sales Decline 3.9 Percent, AAP Reports

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:46:00 +0000

NEW YORK, NY (AUTHORLINK NEWS, July 14, 2009)-- Book sales tracked by the Association of American Publishers (AAP) for the month of May decreased by 3.2 percent at $637.9 million, and were down by 3.9 percent for the year. But e-book sales for the year were up 166.7 %. Obviously, online is the place to be read and seen. You can read the full story in Thursday (July 16) edition of Authorlink news, along with other items of interest to writers and publishers.

We post new stories each week, and a full edition of video and audio interviews and columns by well known authors and publishing pros on the first of each month.

News Headlines for July 9

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:18:00 +0000

Hi Ya'll,

We're following the shocking law which, in effect, bans children's books printed prior to 1985. This is not a hoax. The American Library Association is working with the government's Consumer Products people to see exactly how they must comply. The law, which went into effect this February, is ill-defined. Read this and more at Authorlink.com

News Headlines
Thursday July 9, 2009
Updated every Thursday

Fate of Book Ban in Hands of New CPSA Chair

Hachette Supports Amazon Text-to-Speech

Penguin UK Reorganizes, Downsizes

J.D. Salinger Wins Copyright Battle

2009 London Book Fair Calls for Entries

Disturbing News About Children's Book Law

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 22:17:00 +0000

Children’s Book Burning a Shocking Law

Editor’s Note: In 2008 Congress passed a Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act which has the effect of requiring the destruction of any children’s book published before 1985, due to trace elements of lead in the printed inks. When we first read this report we thought it was a hoax. Unfortunately, it is true. Selling or giving books published before 1985 technically can result in a $100,000 fine. According to the blog, Bardhaven, <http://bardhaven.wordpress.com/2009/06/29/burning-books/> a child would have to totally consume several dozen whole books to be endangered by lead content in the inks. Though presumably not the law’s original intent, the edict would obliterate centuries of literary thought and history. The Consumer Product Safety Commission’s enforcement arm has said for the time being it will not prosecute violators, until the law is further clarified. However, that moratorium apparently runs out in February 2010 (about seven months from now). Read more about this alarming issue on the American Library Association’s wiki headlined Lead in <http://wikis.ala.org/professionaltips/index.php/Lead_in_Books%3F> Books Background on the issue can be found on the ALA site.

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Publish Post

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