TODAY'S NEWS

Books Soft at BAM in Final Quarter
by Jim Milliot
Book sales in the fourth quarter were down slightly and same store sales fell 1.6% at Books-A-Million. Revenue in the period fell 3.4%, to $168.3 million. Excluding the extra week in the 2006 quarter, which generated sales of $9 million, sales were up 3.0%.

For the full year, total revenue rose 2.9%, to $535.1 million, while net income fell 12.7%, to $16.5 million. Same store sales for the year, on a 52-week basis, rose 1.4%. In addition to the extra week, earnings in 2006 benefited from $1.5 million in income from unused gift cards. Read on »

Scholastic Touts Core Business Strength
by Jim Milliot
After previously announcing that it was putting its home continuity business up for sale, Scholastic took a $72.7 million writedown in the third quarter ended February 29 to account for that move, resulting in a net loss of $82.1 million in the quarter. Revenue rose 2.2%, to $458.4 million. Excluding the writedown, the loss from continuing operations was $4.6 million in the quarter compared to last year's third quarter loss of $3.8 million. Read on »

Bookazine Adds LGBT Distribution
By Judith Rosen
Bookazine is the latest wholesaler to dip its toes into the distribution waters, acquiring the assets of the book distribution division of Publishers Distributing Company, part of the financially troubled gay and lesbian media company PlanetOut. Among the publishers affected by the sale are: Bruno Gmunder Verlag, Starbooks Press, Colt Studio and Douglas Simonson Press.

“For us, it was a natural fit with what we do,” said Bookazine executive v-p Richard Kallman, adding that he would be interested in expanding Bookazine’s distribution services to more LGBT and other publishers. And he is considering adding more sales reps to handle Bookazine’s distribution lines. Read on »

eMusic and McSweeney's Team Up for Audio Series
eMusic and McSweeney's have partnered to do a new series of downloadable audio titles. The works, based on essays from McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, will be available exclusively at the online music and spokenword retailer. Dubbed Field Recordings, the recordings, created specifically for eMusic, feature authors like Jonathan Ames, Jessica Anthony and Jack Pendarvis reading their previously published essays in the magazine. The first installment will feature five essays and the pieces riff on a variety of topics ranging from female bullfighting to a homicide in space. Installments of the series will be published on a quarterly basis through eMusic. At eMusic, monthly subscriptions range from $9.99 (for one book) or $19.99 (for two books).

Panel to Discuss 'Flying'
On March 28, Columbia University Union Theological Seminary in New York City will host a conference on Erica Jong’s book Fear of Flying. The conference, “The Fear of Flying: Can a Feminist Classic be a Classic?” will revisit Jong’s novel 35 years after its initial publication and assess the status of women’s writing and of feminism in today’s literary scene. Participants will include novelist Min Jin Lee (Free Food for Millionaires), literary and cultural critics Dr. Nancy K. Miller (But Enough About Me: Let Me Tell You About My Memoir), Dr. Susan Rubin Suleiman (Subversive Intent: Gender, Politics and the Avant-Garde), journalist Rebecca Traister, Erica Jong and others. The conference is open to the public and will be held at the Social Hall, Columbia University Union Theological Seminary, 3041 Broadway at 121st Street, in New York, from 2:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Blogs

MORE STORIES

AUTHORS ON THE AIR

Authors on the Air: Mistaken Identity Families; Alton Brown and Susan Choi
The Don Van Ryn and Newell Cerak families, whose book is Mistaken Identity: Two Families, One Survivor, Unwavering Hope (Howard Books, $21.99; S&S Audio unabridged CD, $39.95) will visit this morning's Today. Tomorrow they will continue their story on the show, plus appear on Dateline. Read on »

PICTURE OF THE DAY

'Comic Foundry' Gets Down in Midtown
The new comics and pop culture magazine Comic Foundry held a jam-packed launch party for the magazine's first full-color issue last night in New York City. Pictured are Comic Foundry senior editor (and PW Comics Week writer) Laura Hudson and Comic Foundry editor-in-chief Tim Leong. Submit your pictures here »

JOB OF THE DAY

PW VIRTUAL EDITION

To access the latest issue of Publishers Weekly no matter where you are, be sure to take a look at PW's Virtual Edition -- available online anytime. If you're not already a subscriber, take a look at a sample issue here.