News and opinion on the changing world of book publishing
January 2010
PEOPLE ROUNDUP In December, Jenny Frost stepped down as President and Publisher of Crown, after a reorganization that split off the information and audio units. She may be reached at jennyfrost [at] verizon dot net. Doubleday Canada’s Maya Mavjee will relocate to succeed Frost overseeing the smaller Crown division. Bonnie Ammer has resigned from her [...]
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November 2009
PEOPLE ROUNDUP Steve Rubin, former Doubleday Broadway President and Publisher, who began at Bantam Books in 1984 and was most recently Random House Publisher-at-Large, has been named President and Publisher of Henry Holt, reporting to Macmillan CEO John Sargent. Dan Farley will now focus exclusively on his other job as President and Publisher of the [...]
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Laura Hazard Owen | May 2008
The debate’s still out on whether America’s officially in a recession, but with food prices rising faster today than they have any time in the past seventeen years, customers may be cutting back on restaurant meals and cooking at home instead. What cookbook will they pick up? Will they pick one up at all? About [...]
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Whether it is the best of times for the publishing industry, or the times that try publishers’ souls, depends on whom you ask, and of course, what you really want to know. But there’s little doubt that these are the best of times for anyone who wants his or her oeuvre to be published. The [...]
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Yes, Random House is still aggressive and aggressively seeking new clients. And, yes, this year continued the increased competition that has come to define the distribution biz. Yet, open warring and panic has died down, making 2005 a steady and (gasp) successful year for many. With the exception of pro-growth Ingram, Consortium and RH, many [...]
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March 2006
Has Online Syndication Killed the Goose That Laid the Golden Egg? Back in the day, syndication not only sold papers, but was a booming business that built up audiences for everything from columnists’ and comic strip-pers’ books (with excerpts) to television audiences (with Gemstar numbers and listings). And, of course, the syndicated columns and strips [...]
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September 2005
PEOPLE It seems as though anyone who wasn’t on vacation or sabbatical this month was busy changing jobs: Liz Perl has been named VP Publisher of Rodale, reporting to Tami Booth Corwin. She was previously Associate Publisher of Penguin‘s Riverhead, Perigee, HP, Portfolio and Sentinel lines and Director of Marketing and Executive Director of Publicity [...]
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November 2004
Life on the road ain’t what it used to be, and the easy money’s long gone. Such is the tale of most independent sales reps — but, on the other hand, “it’s a hell of a lot better than being in house!” attests New England’s Nanci McCrackin, who’s not alone in her sentiment. West Coast [...]
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June 2004
The old timers at the 59th Annual National Stationery Show, which took place May 15-18 at the Javits Center, grouse that the show ain’t what it used to be, and that traffic wasn’t great even on the “busy” days. Stationery’s role in our high-speed, email-driven world has undoubtedly dwindled, and on top of that, the [...]
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June 2003
A day spent trolling the aisles at this year’s Stationery Show suggests that a name change may be in order: there ain’t much paper in sight, and what little there is seems a mere afterthought to the now-familiar deluge of men’s silk ties, personalized golf and baseballs (two different manufacturers), lamp shades, chess boards, beaded [...]
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