Tag Archives: CliffsNotes

People Round-Up, Mid-September 2021

PEOPLE Four months after acquiring Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, HarperCollins has announced its integration plans. HarperCollins will launch a yet-unnamed adult imprint to be led by Deb Brody, formerly VP and Publisher for HMH Adult Trade and now VP and Editorial Director at William Morrow. The children’s imprints and HMH Productions, now rebranded as HarperCollins Productions,…Continue Reading

Wiley’s Brands Buffer the Slump

John Wiley & Sons publishes the #1 seller in travel guides (Frommer’s), one of the leading franchises in consumer technology (Dummies), and what it calls the bestselling cookbook brand in the world (yep, Betty Crocker). Bolstered by the acquisition of Hungry Minds two years ago — which dropped all three of those blockbuster brands into…Continue Reading

Browsing the Big Boxes

With trusty correspondents fanned out over the big-box landscape this October, word comes back that while bestsellers and brand names are alive and well, who controls those brands varies depending on the venue. At Sam’s Club, for instance, the publisher of record for Williams-Sonoma is Simon & Schuster (The Williams-Sonoma Collection), while at Costco, it’s…Continue Reading

Sparkles for SparkNotes

You gotta hand it to SparkNotes, the nervy and boldly proliferating line of literature study guides created by four Harvard seniors and acquired by Barnes & Noble in March 2001. Variously described by the media as “cheeky new book notes,” “kind of a CliffsNotes wanna-be,” and “the last word in literary laziness,” SparkNotes have managed…Continue Reading

The Proprietary Pinch

Just How Big Is The ‘Off-The-Books’ Book Business? Sashay into any Barnes & Noble superstore, and there they are. Past the Barnes & Noble Café–branded 3-piece tea sets (“Great Curves. Excellent Style.”), past the Barnes & Noble–branded laser stationery, the velvet CD wallets, and the handy personal cash boxes, are, of course, the Barnes &…Continue Reading