TODAY'S NEWS

ICM, Curtis Brown Close to "Unusual Deal"
by Liz Thomson
The U.K. trade magazine Publishing News reports that Curtis Brown and ICM are now close to signing a contract that will cement a co-agenting relationship. Under terms of the agreement, each agency will retain its own clients while bringing foreign rights sales under a shared umbrella held by co-heads of rights Betsy Robbins (whom CB poached from ICM) and Kate Cooper. All of ICM's London staff with the notable exception of Margaret Halton will move from Soho Square into Curtis Brown's Haymarket offices on April 1. ICM senior v-p Amanda "Binky" Urban told PN she regretted the loss of Halton, but stressed her belief that "she will land on her feet – everybody loves her."

Discussions that led to what Urban admits is "not the usual co-agent deal" began last summer, over drinks with Curtis Brown's Jonny Geller. ICM London, set up originally as a U.K. and foreign rights base for ICM New York, had reached the end of its four-year plan and the question was how to grow the operation in a tricky climate further hindered by a tumbling dollar and soaring real estate prices that exceed those for New York. "I've really admired what Jonny has done and things happen in life – we just started to talk," said Urban. The economies of scale were of course appealing (ICM's lease on Soho Square is up this year; Curtis Brown has spare office capacity) and it appeared that a combined operation could be greater than the sum of its parts. Read on »

Audible Sales Near $110 Million
Audible Inc., in the process of being acquired by Amazon, reported total revenue of just under $110 million in 2007, an increase of 34% over 2006. The company had an operating loss of $3.7 million, but due to tax credits it finished the year with net income of $2.4 million. In 2006, Audible had an operating loss of $12 million and a net loss of $8.7 million.

The company said it finished the year with 457,000 AudibleListener members, up from 381,000 in 2006. Audible added 71,000 members in the fourth compared to 70,000 in the last period of 2006. Average cost to add a member was $46 in the fourth quarter. Audible also reported that it paid out nearly $48 million in royalties and other content charges last year, up 42% over 2006.

Audible said it expects the Amazon purchase to close by the second quarter of 2008.

Oxmoor Sales and Marketing Moving to NYC
by Jim Milliot
Oxmoor House is in the process of moving the sales and marketing functions of its trade operations from California to New York. As a result, six positions have been eliminated in Oxmoor's Palo Alto offices, although the editorial team remains in place under the direction of Bob Doyle who will continue to work on Oxmoor and Sunset titles.

Jim Childs, v-p and associate publisher of Oxmoor, said he was making the switch because he believes it's important for Oxmoor's trade operation to have a greater presence in New York. Childs said he intends to build a sales and marketing staff that could be as big as eight to 10 people. Sydney Webber, formerly marketing director at Clarkson Potter, has already joined Oxmoor as director of marketing.

Alex Baldwin and Magic Johnson Among BEA Breakfast Speakers
BookExpo America has announced the speakers in its popular breakfast series, which will include appearances by, on Saturday, May 31, 9am, actor Alec Baldwin, author of A Promise to Ourselves, and Magic Johnson, author of Magic Moves: 32 Lessons on How to Be an All-Star in Business. Neil Gaiman, Judy Blume, Richard Engel, Michael Moore and Michael Connelly are among the other speakers participating in author breakfasts and luncheons. Read on »

MacHale Inks Multi-Book Deal with S&S
By John Sellers
Simon & Schuster has signed author D.J. MacHale for 12 books to be published over the next eight years. MacHale, whose bestselling Pendragon series with S&S has more than three million copies in print, will write two trilogies, a four-book series and two picture books for the house. This is the first announced deal for the newly formed Aladdin/Pulse group; it was negotiated by Richard Curtis of Richard Curtis Associates. Read on »

Blogs

MORE STORIES

King Back to Harmony
By Matt Thornton
Harmony executive editor John Glusman has acquired another book by David King, about the true story of the hunt for Marcel Petiot, a respectable physician by day who turned out to be a brutal serial killer in Nazi-occupied Paris. The book's title is Death in the City of Light; Suzanne Gluck at William Morris sold world rights.
Read on »

The PW Morning Report, Feb. 29, 2008
By Dermot McEvoy
A daily round-up of the latest publishing news: "Exploited" Rowling; Oprah Pick Soars; Talking Valerie?; BEA Celebrities; "Wimpy Kid" to Big Screen; Rob Lowe Memoir; Maxine Hong Kingston Wins Kirsch; Remembering Dutton's; Reidy's Growing Moment; and Palgrave Sales Soars.
Read on »

Monday's Reviews Today: Child 44 and The River Cottage Cookbook
Set in late Stalinist Russia, newcomer Tom Rob Smith's stunning debut, Child 44, follows war hero Leo Stepanovich Demidov, as he attempts to solve a child killing in a country that doesn't acknowledge murder. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's River Cottage Cookbook is a hands on guide to cooking and raising things to cook organically, featuring instructions like this: "A chicken is not ready to kill for the table until you think it is...If it feels tempting, then you should kill it if you want to." Read on »

AUTHORS ON THE AIR

Authors on the Air: The Other Boleyn Girl; Eating Disorders; Dr. Wayne Dyer
Today's the opening of the film The Other Boleyn Girl, starring Eric Bana, Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson and based on the novel by Philippa Gregory (Pocket Star, $7.99; Touchstone, $16; S&S Audio abridged CD, $29.95). PW's review called it a "fresh, wonderfully vivid retelling of the story of Anne Boleyn. Rather than settling for a picturesque rendering of court life, Gregory conveys its claustrophobic, all-consuming nature with consummate skill." Read on »

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Lunch with Massimo
On Monday, February 25th, Portland, Maine-based Sellers Publishing and President Ronnie Sellers hosted a New York City launch of their new cookbook Massimo's Italian Kitchen: Authentic One-Dish Meals from a Seasoned Chef at Beppe Restaurant. Chef Massimo, who prepared the lunch, is the owner of the celebrated Toronto-based restaurant Mistura, and he appears regularly on The Food Network. In attendance were such notables from the food world as Zarela Martinez, Barbara Kafka, Michele Scicolone, Sara Pepitone, and Pat Adrian. In this picture, Sellers Publishing Director Robin Haywood is flanked by Zarela Martinez (left) and Michele Scicolone (right). Submit your pictures here »

JOB OF THE DAY

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