TODAY'S NEWS

Bankruptcy Results in Big Loss for Quebecor
Printing giant Quebecor World released its delayed financial results for 2007 yesterday and as expected the company took a big hit due to its January bankruptcy filing. Quebecor recorded a net loss from continuing operations of $2.20 billion compared to earnings of $30.6 million in 2006. Revenue in the year fell 6.5%, to $5.69 billion. Charges associated with the bankruptcy, including goodwill impairment charges, impairment of assets, and restructuring and other charges amounted to $2.1 billion. In addition to the charges, Quebecor said profitability was depressed by lower volume, pricing pressure, underperformaning European assets (which Quebecor is trying to sell) and higher expenses. The decline in revenue was attributed in part to the closing of several older plants in North America. Read on »

Joanna Cotler Steps Down from Imprint
By Rachel Deahl
Longtime children's book editor and publisher Joanna Cotler is stepping down from her position at HarperCollins. Cotler, who has spent the last 13 years as publisher of her eponymous imprint, Joanna Cotler Books, will become editor-at-large at the publisher as of May 13.

Cotler, whose current title is senior v-p and publisher, is leaving to focus on her sideline passion, painting. She will continue to edit select titles at HarperCollins after her departure; moving forward these will be the only titles published under the Joanna Cotler Books banner. The imprint currently issues 15 titles a year; it has not yet been determined how many books Cotler will do once she transitions to editor at large. Read on »

“Think Future” Panel Debates What Makes a YA a YA
By Diane Roback
The limitations that designating a book as a YA can have in the market and the tension between what teens want to read vs. what some adults find appropriate were two of the topics discussed by panelists at yesterday's PW breakfast examining the growing, and often controversial, young adult market. Read on »

Portfolio Wins Spitzer Scandal Book
By Rachel Deahl
The proposal that agent Liz Darhansoff has been shopping on the rise and fall of Eliot Spitzer has found a home. After PW reported last week that the book-to-be, by Fortune magazine (and Smartest Guys in the Room) writer Peter Elkind, was starting off at a base price of $350,000, expected winner Portfolio has closed the deal.

The Penguin imprint acquired world rights from Darhansoff, of Verrill & Feldman. Elkind is collaborating on the book with documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side); Gibney is working concurrently on a documentary about Spitzer. (Gibney and Elkind worked together on the film adaptation of Smartest Guys in the Room.) No pub date yet.

Penguin Canada to Distribute Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury Publishing, known most famously for the Harry Potter books, is switching its Canadian distributors effective August 1, 2008. Penguin Canada publisher David Davidar announced that Penguin Canada will sell and distribute adult trade and children’s books for Bloomsbury UK, Bloomsbury US, Walker & Company and A&C Black reference books.

Former distibutor, Raincoast Books, continues to sell and distribute Bloomsbury and Walker & Company titles in Canada until July 31, 2008 and to accept returns until October 31. “The books and authors have been well represented by Raincoast in the past and the parting is amicable,” said Jamie Broadhurst, v-p marketing for Raincoast.

Blogs

MORE STORIES

AUTHORS ON THE AIR

Authors on the Air: Cop in the Hood; Louise Erdrich’s 13th; Gary “the Kid” Carter
Today, NPR's On Point talks with law professor Peter Moskos, author of Cop in the Hood: My Year Policing Baltimore's Eastern District (Princeton University Press, $25). From PW: “Moskos blends narrative and analysis, adding an authoritative tone to this adrenaline-accelerating night ride that reveals the stark realities of law enforcement while illuminating little-known aspects of police procedures.” Read on »

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Straley's Northern Exposure
John Straley stopped by Old Harbor Books in Sitka, Ala., on Saturday to sign copies of his new book, The Big Both Ways (Alaska Northwest Books). The shop sold over 150 copies of the title and the first 100 customers got a ticket for a two-hour boat cruise. Pictured here at the event (l. to r.) are: customer Phyllis Hackett; co-owner and manager of Old Harbor Books, Don Muller; and Straley.
Photo credit: Jan Straley 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.