TODAY'S NEWS

Layoffs Hit Thomas Nelson
By Lynn Garrett
A round of layoffs hit Thomas Nelson staffers Tuesday. Lindsey Nobles, director of corporate communications, confirmed that there had been “a modest reduction in our workforce,” though she would not release a number, calling it “a small percentage of our workforce—a single digit percentage.” The last “significant” reduction was in 2001, when as CEO Michael Hyatt recalled “it was about 65 people. This is less than that. At that time it was economically driven, while this is strategy-driven.”

Hyatt explained that the layoffs were a result of Nelson’s recently announced plans to reduce title output by 50% in order to focus its resources on fewer, better-selling books. “When you do that, it doesn’t require the same infrastructure,” he said. “Each title, whether big or small, requires about the same level of effort.” Asked whether employees may have had some inkling that staffing cuts would follow that move, Hyatt said, “They certainly know that the marketplace is changing, and fairly dramatically, and that really requires us to think outside of business as usual. I don’t think most people were surprised by it.” Read on »

Harlequin Signs On With LibreDigital
Harlequin, the leading publisher of romance and women’s fiction, announced today that LibreDigital will now handle all of its digital book projects, including its e-books, as well as online browsing capabilities via widgets and its Browse the Book tool.

Brent Lewis, Harlequin’s v-p of Internet and Digital, said LibreDigital is, “very innovative in their products. They can meet our ambitions going forward.” Last September, Harlequin announced that it would make its entire frontlist available in e-book format; in addition to the browsing tools, from now on, LibreDigital will handle Harlequin’s e-books through its digital warehouse: “Having it all under one house is really important to us, said Lewis.” Other future goals include using LibreDigital’s browsing and warehousing tools in conjunction with e-tailers like Amazon. According to Lewis,“one of our goals is to have all our partners utilize this.” Read on »

Rowman & Littlefield Adds Bernan
Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group has acquired Bernan Associates, a publisher and distributor of U.S. government publications, as well as Bernan’s UNIPUB division, a distributor for international organizations. Based in Lanham, Md., also home of RLPG, Bernan specializes in the publication of books produced by the U.S. Government Printing Office and by foreign governments and intergovernmental organizations such as the U.N., the World Bank and the World Trade Organization. According to RLPG, Bernan represents about 15% of the GPO’s annual sales. Bernan also has its own line of reference works. The majority of its titles are marketed to libraries.

Bernan will complement RLPG’s Government Institutes program, and 12 of Bernan’s 30 employees have joined RLPG, including Dave Williams, managing director of Bernan, and Bruce Samuelson, director of marketing.

Prairie Lights Has New Owner
By Claire Kirch
Jim Harris, owner of Prairie Lights Books in Iowa City, told his 30 employees Sunday evening that he has sold the store he founded 30 years ago to the team of Jan Weissmiller, a long-time employee and poetry buyer at the store, and Jane Mead, a poet who lives in Napa, Calif., both of whom graduated from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Weissmiller and Mead each purchased a third of the ownership of the store as of December 31, and will purchase the remaining third from Harris at the end of this year. “He has until December to change his mind,” joked Weissmiller Tuesday, “But he’s not showing any ambivalence.”

Harris waited until this week to make the news public of the transfer in the iconic store’s ownership so as to “ease Jan into things with the accountants” and also “not to blindside the employees.” Even after he sells his remaining interest in the store, Harris, 61, intends to remain at the store indefinitely as a part-time clerk. Weissmiller, who became Harris’s first full-time employee in 1979, will run the day-to-day operations at the store. Mead plans on remaining in Calif., but will spend 6-8 weeks each year in Iowa City. Read on »

Management Change at Penguin
At Penguin Group, Nigel Portwood, the division's CFO, is taking on a new role as executive v-p, global operations. Stepping in to be his successor in the role of CFO is Coram Williams, currently head of financial planning and analysis at Pearson Plc.

Portwood, who will be focused on coordinating the integration of Penguin’s publishing operations around the company, will remains based in the U.S. Williams will be based in London and be joining the Peguin Group Board. The changes officially take effect May 1.

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AUTHORS ON THE AIR

Authors on the Air: Baseball, Unwrapped; Birds, Too; Easy Green Living
Today, both The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Leonard Lopate Show interview political journalist Howard Fineman, author of Thirteen American Arguments: Enduring Debates That Define and Inspire Our Country (Random House, $25; unabridged Random Audio, $31.95). Read on »

PICTURE OF THE DAY

It’s Not About the Bike
Jim Malusa, author of Into Thick Air: Biking to the Bellybutton of Six Continents (Sierra Club Books), is pictured here near the Santa Cruz River in Tucson, the lowest point in the city. The photograph was taken by Arizona Daily Star reporter Tom Beal, who biked with Malusa to this spot for a story about the local author’s new book. Submit your pictures here »

CORRECTION

In yesterday’s Daily story “Unbridled, Chelsea Strike Film Deals” it was incorrectly stated that Unbridled Books sold the film rights to author Andrea Portes’ novel, Hick. Portes retained her film rights and her deal was brokered by Sally van Haitsma of the Castiglia Literary Agency.

JOB OF THE DAY

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