News Briefs
by Staff -- Publishers Weekly, 1/29/2007
Results Drop At MHE
Total revenue at McGraw-Hill Education fell 5.5% in 2006, to $2.52 billion, and operating profit, impacted by restructuring charges, dropped 19.8%, to $329.1 million. The sales decline came entirely in MHE's school education group, where revenue fell 12.4%, to $1.3 billion. Sales in the higher education, professional and international group increased 3.5%, to $1.2 billion.
Oprah Picks Poitier Memoir
Sidney Poitier's spiritual autobiography, The Measure of a Man,published by Harper San Francisco in 2000, was announced Friday by Oprah Winfrey as her newest book club selection.
Newbery, Caldecott Winners
Susan Patron has won the John Newbery Medal for her novel The Higher Power of Lucky, illustrated by Matt Phelan (S&S/Jackson), and David Wiesner won the Randolph Caldecott Medal for Flotsam (Clarion). The awards were announced last week at the ALA's midwinter conference in Seattle.
Nelson Forms Brazil Venture
Thomas Nelson has launched Thomas Nelson Brasil, a new publishing group based in Rio de Janeiro. The joint venture between publishing group Ediouro Publicações and Nelson will bring American authors to Brazilian readers. The unit will release 48 Portuguese-language titles in 2007 in the business, self-help and spiritual growth categories. Overseeing the unit from Nelson's U.S. office will be Tod Shuttleworth, senior v-p and group publisher of Nelson Global Publishing and Specialty Publishing. The publisher in Brazil is Carlo Carrenho.
Equity Firm Buys AuthorHouse
The POD subsidy publisher AuthorHouse has been acquired by Bertram Capital, a private equity firm in Palo Alto, Calif. Terms weren't disclosed. AuthorHouse president Bryan Smith will remain at the helm of the company, which released 6,000 books in 2006.
HC Gets Disney Co. Distribution
Beginning July 12, HarperCollins will assume distribution and selected sales functions for Hyperion Books and the Disney Book Group. The two Disney Company publishers have been distributed by Hachette Book Group. HC will distribute the Hyperion/Disney list to both North American and international book markets and will handle all back-office functions. Hyperion's and Disney Book Group's national account sales teams will continue to cover their current account bases.
Corrections
In last week's "Auden, Michener at 100," the date for the Auden tribute at the 92nd St. Y was incorrect; it is March 5.
In last week's Deals, Collins's purchase of Spike Carlson's Wood: A Splintered Historywas described incorrectly; it was for world English rights.
