Customs Delays and Wal-Mart Threaten Illustrated Book Publishers’ Holiday Offerings While merchants and shoppers alike are gearing up for the holiday season, publishers are giving a collective sigh of relief. Recent delays of Asian imports nearly squelched many publishers’ holiday cheer well in advance of returns. While the fourth quarter looms large for manufacturers and…Continue Reading
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…Continue Reading
People The West Coast is in the news: Kirsty Melville, previously Publisher of Ten Speed Press, has become Publisher of the new book division of University Games. The new Publisher of Ten Speed is Lorena Jones. … Kevan Lyon, EVP for Wholesale Merchandising/Distribution (including PGW) at AMS, has left the company. Her duties were being…Continue Reading
People As Fall sets in, there are many jobs that are being vacated, created, and filled. Those leaving include Becky Cabaza, Editorial Director at Three Rivers/Crown, who is becoming a freelance editorial consultant. She can be reached at (973) 280-2429 and by e-mail at bcabaza@hotmail.com. … Susan Naythons, EVP Sales, is leaving PGW to spend…Continue Reading
People Maureen O’Neal has left Ballantine and can be reached by email at mrnoneal@aol.com. Elizabeth Dyssegaard is also leaving at the end of the summer. Katherine Beitner to HarperCollins as Associate Publishing Director. She was Director of Publicity for Harmony and Shaye Areheart Books. In children’s books there is more movement: Last month Diana Blough…Continue Reading
Move It By its most elemental definition, “distribution” means “to move,” so perhaps it’s no surprise that this arm of the book publishing business is doing laps that even the Queen Mary 2 can’t keep up with. It seems everyone is re-evaluating the most efficient ways to get their books to market. Constant attention to…Continue Reading
Book View People May was another busy month for publishers’ human resource directors: Michael Jacobs has gone to Abrams as CEO. He was most recently SVP of Scholastic’s trade division. In addition, Ron Longe has been named Director of Publicity for STC, also part of the Martinière Group. He was most recently at Routledge. Michael…Continue Reading
People April is the cruelest month for some; but for others, it’s been a banner one. And for the industry as a whole, there’s been a whirlwind of activity, with enough moves, consolidations, entries and exits to rival a Feydeau or Frayn farce. Sara Nelson, Glamour’s Senior Contributing Editor, Books, and columnist for The New…Continue Reading
PEOPLE Neil Ortenberg, EVP of the Avalon Publishing Group and Publisher of Thunders Mouth/Nation Books has resigned. He may be reached at (917) 620-4435. Becky Saletan is joining Harcourt as Editor in Chief in June. She was Editorial Director of North Point Press. Tina Pohlmann is also joining as Senior Editor, Harvest. She was Senior…Continue Reading
Far-Flung Regional Houses Hit the Heartland Bull’s-Eye Just one word: scrapbooking. Yes, scrapbooking is the fastest-growing hobby sector in the United States, with sales of related supplies — presumably including books — quadrupling in the past five years to an estimated $2 billion, as the New York Times recently noted, and projected to grow as…Continue Reading
