News Briefs

Worldwide revenue at Random House rose 7.5% for the first six months of 2006, to 859 million euros ($1.10 billion), while operating EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) held at 48 million euros ($61 million). Parent company Bertelsmann said the results reflect "year-on-year performance improvements in North America and Germany and a high continued level of profitability in the U.K."

In the U.S., Random benefited from the success of several paperback movie tie-ins and a strong performance from the Crown Publishing Group. Random chairman Peter Olson said the second half of 2006 "is off to a strong start," with July and August "excellent sales months."

An agreement in principle has been reached to settle most of the consumer class-action lawsuits brought against Random House and James Frey over Frey's memoir A Million Little Pieces. Under the agreement, which still needs to be approved by a judge, customers who bought the book before January 26 will get a refund, provided they meet certain eligibilty requirements. A $2.3 million cap has been placed on the settlement, an amount that covers attorneys' fees and refunds. The lawsuits charged that Frey misled readers by altering key facts in his book.

Yohan Inc., a leading independent bookseller, wholesaler and publisher based in Tokyo, has acquired Cody's Books. The purchase includes Cody's Berkeley store on Fourth Street and its San Francisco store near Union Square. Andy Ross, Cody's owner, will remain as president, and no staff changes are planned. Ross said that Yohan's resources will help Cody's strengthen its operations and restock the shelves. Last year, Yohan, run by Hiroshi Kagawa, bought the Berkeley-based Stone Bridge Press.

Germany-based Springer has acquired Humana Press, a publisher of research-level books and journals in molecular biology, neuroscience, cancer research and medicine. In addition to a backlist of 1,000 titles, the Totowa, N.J.–based company's portfolio includes 25 journals. Nearly all of its titles are available as e-books. Springer will retain the Humana name as an imprint.

F&W, the Cincinnati-based publisher of popular reference books, is launching a humor imprint this fall. F&W will release two to three titles each year under the Tow Books imprint, beginning with Encyclopedia Brown and the Mysterious Presidency of George W. Bush by John Warner, also the new imprint's editor. Jane Friedman, editorial director for the Writer's Digest Books and How imprints, will oversee Tow.