It’s been over a year since the last book in Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, was published in the US. The trilogy’s blockbuster success promises to continue with three English-language film adaptations yet to be released (one advantage Lisbeth Salander has on Harry Potter at this point), but Publishing…Continue Reading
Take a look at BookScan’s bestselling juvenile titles for the week ending April 25: an astounding 73% were titles from one of several series. But these are not your Baby-Sitters’ Club of yesteryear: “Harry Potter turned the whole paperback series notion on its head,” says Megan Tingley, SVP, Publisher, Little Brown Books for Young Readers….Continue Reading
After Ipsos/NPD, which provided consumer data to the Book Industry Study Group’s Trends, exited the market, publishers struggled to get timely—or detailed—data on their consumers, and because their customers were retailers, they had little idea of who their readers were. The data that existed was too generic and surveyors often used questionable methodologies to get…Continue Reading
Anyone who saw (or was) an adult reading Harry Potter on the subway knows that the line between books for grownups and books for children has become increasingly blurred. And despite time devoted to the discussion (see the recent New York Times Book Review essay “I’m Y.A. and I’m O.K”) and celebrity authors writing the…Continue Reading
“A crystal ball to the future” is what LIMA promised Licensing International 2006 would be. And what does the ball forecast? After a quick sweep through the floor at Javits during the show (June 20-22), it seems that celebrities, polar bears, positive pre-teens, and, of course, fairy dust, are on the horizon. With a trumpet…Continue Reading
Frankfurt’s Honoree Gets Into the Fast Lane Technology. Textbooks. Jhumpa Lahiri. Western book publishers have learned what to expect from their Indian counterparts. The industry has delivered, literally and figuratively, on much of what the Frankfurt Book Fair promised when they named it Guest of Honor in 1986. Presumably bestowed on a culture that could…Continue Reading
Audiobooks Go Global, Competition Rises In Germany, Yoshi Mixes Tunes in Japan As PT continues its foray into the audio delivery of the word, we leave behind the car-loving Americans who drive twice the distance at a third of the cost, for the land of the TGV, the U-Bahn and the AVE. A land where…Continue Reading
Gift Cards Break Boundaries and Emerge as the New Consumer Currency of Choice This summer, when the sweltering (remember?) sun drives you into Key Food for a sixpack, stop by the CoinStar on your way out, pop in your pennies and watch the new Harry Potter pop out. The little green machine recently announced that…Continue Reading
S&S, Scholastic Among Houses Pondering the Product Pipeline While a well-oiled supply chain has been an obsession among other industries over the last two decades, book publishers have only recently begun to put the product pipeline front and center on the radar screen as they try to banish “inventory obsolescence” — products washing up on…Continue Reading
“Not your father’s New Age,” trade rag New Age Retailer’s current marketing tagline, was the message being touted at the 2003 International New Age Trade Show (INATS) West on June 28-30 at the Denver Merchandise Mart. What began as a metaphysical and jewelry show in 1996 has grown three times in size to its current…Continue Reading
