TODAY'S NEWS

Results Off in Marvel's Publishing Segment
Sales in Marvel’s publishing segment declined 4% in the first quarter, to $26.5 million principally due to the timing of major publishing initiatives, the company reported yesterday morning. Sales reflected a decline in comic book sales within the direct channel and lower advertising and custom sales, offset in part by continued strong growth in the mass market channel. The decline in direct channel sales is mainly due to strong sales of high profile titles Civil War and The Death of Captain America last year. Operating income declined 14%, to $9.9 million in with an operating margin of approximately 37% compared to approximately 42% in last year’s first quarter. Based on its planned slate of publishing initiatives, including the release of the Secret Invasion series late in the second quarter, Marvel said it expects its publishing segment to return to traditional margins for the full year.

NBCC Suggests Spring and Summer "Good Reads"
by Craig Morgan Teicher
The National Book Critics Circle has released the Spring installment of its “Good Reads” lists. The list provides an alternative to standard bestseller lists by offering a look at what “critics and authors have been impressed by at this point in the year,” said current NBCC president Jane Ciabattari. The NBCC poles its membership—composed of active book critics—as well as former NBCC award winners and nominees in order to compile the seasonal lists. While some of the usual suspects appear on the list—the Spring 2008 list features recent titles by Peter Carey and J.M. Coetzee—there are also a few more surprising choices. The full lists in fiction, nonfiction and poetry are after the jump. Read on »

Wiley’s Charles Ellis Dies at 72
Charles Ellis, who served as president and CEO of John Wiley & Sons from 1990 to 1998, died Sunday at age 72. After graduating from Princeton, Ellis worked for famed British philosopher Bertrand Russell before deciding to make a career in publishing. He joined Wiley in 1988 after serving in executive roles at Pergamon Press, D.C. Heath and Elsevier Science Publishing Company. He played a key role in returning Wiley to profitability and expanding its global operations. During his tenure, Wiley acquired VCH Publishing Group, Alan R. Liss and Jossey-Bass, and launched its first online venture. In addition to leading Wiley, Ellis was active in various industry organizations and served as chair of the AAP from 1992 to1994. In 1998 he received the AAP’s Curtis Benjamin Award. Ellis was also an early backer of the Digital Object Identifier and served as the first chair of the DOI Foundation.

Touchstone/Fireside Tries Hardcover ARCs
By Rachel Deahl
Hardcover ARCs aren't unheard of, but they are rare. They can also be expensive. Nonetheless, Touchstone/Fireside is rolling out hardcover advance copies of its August 2008 novel, What Happened to Anna K., in an effort to gain attention for the title from booksellers and the press.

According to Touchstone/Fireside executive v-p and publisher Mark Gompertz, the move was "not inexpensive" and came about because the book, a modern day twist on Anna Karenina by debut novelist Irina Reyn, got strong initial reactions from in-house staffers and sales people. The hardcover ARC, Gompertz thinks, is working. He said there has been a "tremendous response" to the special ARC. Read on »

The PW Morning Report
By Lynn Andriani
Major media weighs in on Olson's departure; Harry disappears from bestseller list; McGrath and Hiassen hit the links; Stan Lee, 85, keeps on truckin'; Nick Hornby on books to film; Walters foots her own author tour bill. Read on »

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2008 Pannell Winners Announced
The winners of the 2008 Lucile Micheels Pannell Award have been announced. Kepler’s Books and Magazines in Menlo Park, Calif., won in the general bookstore category, and the Flying Pig Bookstore in Shelburne, Vt., won in the children's bookstore category. An honorable mention was awarded to Vero Beach Book Center in Vero Beach, Fla.

The awards, sponsored by the Women's National Book Association and underwritten by the Penguin Young Readers Group, go to bookstores that display creativity, responsiveness to community needs, passion, and understanding of young readers. The winners will be presented with a check for $1,000 and a framed piece of original artwork at the ABA’s annual Celebration of Bookselling at BookExpo on May 29.

AUTHORS ON THE AIR

Authors on the Air: Barbara Walters; The Chris Farley Show; Pure Goldwater
Today, Oprah interviews Barbara Walters, whose Audition: A Memoir (Knopf, $29.95; RH Audio abridged CD, $29.95) has its one-day laydown today. PW starred its review, calling it a “compulsively readable memoir. Alternating between tales of her personal struggles, professional achievements and insider anecdotes about the celebrities and world leaders she's interviewed, this mammoth memoir's energy never flags.” Read on »

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Two Clarks...And an Ault
At the recent L.A. Times 13th Annual Festival of Books, author Sandi Ault (pictured in cowboy hat) got to meet one of her inspirations, Mary Higgins Clark. MH Clark, and her author daughter Carol Higgins Clark, were also signing books at The Mystery Bookstore.
Photo credit: Linda S. Brown Submit your pictures here »

JOB OF THE DAY

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