While many university presses have embarked on a soul-searching jag as they try to reconcile their lofty mandates with low-life financial reality, the folks at Harvard Business School Press appear anything but confused. “We are not a university press,” says David Goehring, newly appointed VP and Director of HBS Press. “You could say we’re a…Continue Reading
PEOPLE November brought some big moves in the industry, with Bill Barry going to DK as President, after a hiatus of two years (he had been at Hungry Minds when it was sold to Wiley) and Jim Jordan, Director of the Johns Hopkins University Press moving to Columbia University Press as President and Director (as…Continue Reading
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
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
PEOPLE CDS’ Stanley Cohen has taken a leave of absence and Steve Black has stepped in as Acting Sales Director. David Wilk, VP of Client Services and Business Development, has taken over some responsibilities and a new Client Services Manager, Kerry Liebling, has been hired. Erin McHugh has been named Director of Creative Services, Trade…Continue Reading
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
Wrangling with what one observer has called “the quickening compression of the world English-language market for books,” a number of prominent literary agencies have now rolled out transatlantic offices, including ICM (which set up shop in Soho Square last March) and Janklow & Nesbit (it landed in London over two years ago), while British agency…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
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
Like most publishers’ ebook expectations in this deflated era of digital publishing, Seven Stories Press had fairly unspectacular ones. They dutifully digitized their files. They hung out their e-shingle. They even wrangled a way to sell ebooks directly from their site. And the results trickled in. “Tiny” is the word one executive used. Even Noam…Continue Reading
