RH Gives $1Mil to First Book

Random House has made its largest philanthropic donation to date: $1 million to literacy nonprofit First Book. The multiyear monetary gift accompanies a company matching program, which matches employees' donations up to $25,000 and up to $1,000 from authors, booksellers, agents and others in the industry. The donation, wrote RH chairman and CEO Peter Olson in a letter to employees, shows that RH tries to “make a difference, as well as a profit.”

Cooper Square has acquired the assets of Northland Publishing, headquartered in Flagstaff, Ariz. It is the second purchase this month by Cooper Square, the joint venture of the Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group and a private equity firm. The acquisition involved about 150 titles and included Northland's Rising Moon and Luna Rising children's imprints. National Book Network, a sister company of R&L, will take over distribution of Northland titles as part of the acquisition. Northland's 15-person staff was laid off in Flagstaff, although some are working through the transition period.

The NEA has partnered with XM Satellite Radio to bring the Big Read to an even larger audience. An audio version of the program, dubbed The Big Read on XM, will debut September 10 on Sonic Theater, a channel about audiobooks and theater. The series will feature audio feeds, provided by Audible, of Big Read books plus commentary and interviews with authors and personalities ranging from Colin Powell to Cheech Marin.

Barnes & Noble has reversed its decision not to carry If I Did It in its stores, and will stock the controversial title when it is released in mid-September. B&N cited stronger than expected consumer interest in the book for its change of heart.

Publisher Beaufort Books has upped the print run for If I Did It to 150,000 copies from its original plan to print 125,000 copies.

Biblio Distribution, the small press affiliate of National Book Network, has stopped signing new clients and will substantially cut its client list of 450 small presses over the next several years. The Biblio team, headed by Davida Breier, remains intact.

The defamation lawsuit filed against St. Martin's Press and Augusten Burroughs by the Turcotte family for the author's characterization of them in Running with Scissors has been settled. Financial terms of the settlement have not been disclosed. The house and author have agreed to alter the language on the book's acknowledgments page and author's note. An attorney for the Turcotte family said they view the settlement as a vindication of their position with respect to the book.