Tag Archives: Houghton Mifflin

Book View, October 2003

PEOPLE Bonnie Ammer has been named to the newly created position of EVP, Publisher at Large, Random House Worldwide, reporting directly to Peter Olson. Her current job as Publisher, Fodor’s Travel Publications, and President, Random House Information Group, will be assumed by David Naggar, who will continue as President, Random House Audio and Diversified Publishing…Continue Reading

Phoenix Rising

Online Learning’s 600-Pound Gorilla Tangos With Textbook Publishers The University of Phoenix, an Arizona-headquartered, for-profit institution offering degrees in adult-education staples such as business administration and information technology, may seem an odd candidate to be turning the world of higher educational publishing upside down. Yet as the nation’s largest accredited university — 163,627 current students…Continue Reading

Book View, September 2003

PEOPLE As summer winds down, it’s been unusually quiet in publishers’ halls, but look to an interesting Fall, with new positions being created, even as more rounds of layoffs are rumored. Meanwhile: Holt’s Maggie Richards has hired Richard Rhorer as Marketing Director. He was previously Director of Marketing for the Rayo imprint at HarperCollins. ….Continue Reading

Book View, May 2003

PEOPLE Between the Random/Ballantine merger and the “Voluntary Retirement” package, insiders say that the total number of exiting employees is cresting thirty, including Howard Weill (Hweill@optonline.net), Mike Moran (mmoran123@aol.com), Ivan Held (IvanHeld@yahoo.com), Dan Rembert (Drem3ert@earthlink.net), Kathleen Spinelli (kspinelli@ mac.com), Susan Gilmer (susan@gilmer.com), Barbara Greenberg, Erica Muncy, and editors Tracy Brown (Tracy_Brown03@msn.com) and Dan Smetanka. The…Continue Reading

Changing Channels

Beefing Up Special Sales, Publishers Surf the Downturn Be it a defensive maneuver, market opportunism, or plain necessity, a number of major book publishers are blocking and tackling their way into nontraditional retail accounts like never before. And no wonder, you might say. “You look at the relative flatness in the book trade, and it’s…Continue Reading

Trendspotting: Betting With Your Head

PT’s Savvy Commentators Ponder the Fallout from Another Year in Publishing As we surveyed the smoking turf from another twelve months in the book business, it struck us that this year’s pinnacles and pratfalls were decidedly in the eye of the beholder. We asked a number of savvy publishing personalities to offer their take on…Continue Reading

Bonjour, M. Le Monopoly

The sell-off of French giant Vivendi’s media assets has had buy-out bankers licking their chops the world over. But what does it spell for the increasingly monolithic publishing culture in France? This month Jean Rosenthal, former President of French publisher Stock and currently a translator and consultant to the publishing business, offers a view from…Continue Reading

Book View, November 2002

PEOPLE Change is the constant in publishing at the moment: Bookspan cut its staff by about a dozen people, including longtimers Norm Schneider, VP Marketing, and Nancy Whitin, who oversaw the Specialty Clubs, including The Good Cook, History, Crafters, Country Homes, Military, Stage & Screen, Mystery Guild, etc. Natalie Chapman has been named VP, Publisher,…Continue Reading

Distribution Daybook

This year Publishing Trends abandoned its vendor survey, because trying to rate players in the fulfillment and distribution arena was like trying to judge a warehouse full of Rube Goldberg contraptions — there are too many moving pieces, and they all move in different (some might say mysterious) ways. But one thing is certain: they…Continue Reading