TODAY'S NEWS

Amazon Growth Slows a Bit; No New Kindle in 2008
by Jim Milliot
Amazon continues to out-perform most bricks-and-mortar stores, but its third quarter results showed that the e-tailer is not completely immune from the declining economy. Total sales rose 31% in the period, to $4.26 billion, while total media sales increased 19%, to $2.49 billion, and North America media revenue rose 15%, to $1.24 billion. All the sales gains are below the increased posted in the second quarter; the company said some of the reason for the slower growth was due to strong sales in July 2007 of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Net income jumped 48%, to $118 million. Read on »

'Jewel of Medina' Has Respectable Start
by Jim Milliot
The Jewel of Media, the debut novel by Sherry Jones, has sold 3,000 units through October 19, according to Nielsen BookScan. Beaufort Books picked up Jewel in early September after it was dropped by Ballantine over what is said were concerns that the book took liberties with the historical record and might be offensive to some members of the Muslim community. The book began to hit bookstores in early October. A Beaufort spokesperson said the book has also done well in the library market, a segment whose sales are not included in the BookScan figures. Read on »

Iowa Floods Gone, But Not Forgotten
By Claire Kirch
Four months after intense flooding in June caused the university bookstore on the University of Iowa’s campus to relocate from its 30, 000-square-foot retail space on the ground floor of the Iowa Memorial Union to a 7,000-square-foot space in the Old Capitol Mall in downtown Iowa City, the store is still struggling. Due to the decrease in floor space, the bookstore has had to cut back on its general trade book selection, as well as apparel and supplies. The only trade titles now being sold at the store are dictionaries and reference titles, “anything relevant to the store’s educational mission,” according to George Herbert, associate director of the University of Iowa Memorial Union, who’s also in charge of overseeing store operations. Herbert said there has been a “significant drop” in sales, as well as a drop in student traffic since the store relocated to its temporary location in mid-June. The store, which is affiliated with the University of Iowa, has been able to retain all of its 30 full-time employees. It will remain in its temporary location through spring 2009. Read on »

David Foster Wallace Memorial Set for This Afternoon
Little, Brown will hold a memorial service for David Foster Wallace this afternoon at 4:00 p.m. in New York City. The event will take place at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts at New York University, and is open to the public. Friends and fellow writers will speak in remembrance and appreciation of Wallace, who died September 12. Readers will include Mark Costello, Amy Wallace Havens (sister of David Foster Wallace), Bonnie Nadell (literary agent), Michael Pietsch (longtime editor), Colin Harrison (editor), Gerry Howard (editor), Don DeLillo, Donald Antrim, Zadie Smith, George Saunders, Jonathan Franzen and the New Yorker's Deborah Treisman.

The Skirball Center is located at 566 LaGuardia Place (Washington Square South), New York, NY 10012.

Job Moves
David Moldawer has been named editor at Penguin's Portfolio imprint. Moldawer was at St. Martin's Press. At Portfolio he will be acquiring business titles, focusing on books about the Internet, new media, creativity, productivity, management and leadership, and marketing.

A number of staff changes have been made in Crown's publicity department. Annsley Rosner has been moved into the role of publicity director for both Crown and Shaye Areheart Books. (Rosner was handling publicity for Harmony Books and Three Rivers Press.) Campbell Wharton has been hired to fill Rosner's old post; Wharton has been named director of publicity for Harmony, Three Rivers Press and Crown Forum. Wharton was associate director of publicity at HarperCollins. Kim Small has been named director of publicity at Watson-Guptill and Potter Craft; Small was at Workman, most recently as executive publicist. Sarah Breivogel has been named publicity manager for SAB. And  has been given the title of publicity manager of Clarkson Potter.

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AUTHORS ON THE AIR

Authors on the Air: Whoopi Goldberg; Dutch Sheets; Marian Wright Edelman
Today on both Good Morning America and Live with Regis and Kelly, Whoopi Goldberg served up Plum Fantastic (Hyperion, 978-0786852604, $4.99), the first in her new Sugar Plum Ballerinas children’s series. PW declared, “Forget low expectations from celebrity authors — this series opener is warm, funny and tender.” Read on »

PICTURE OF THE DAY

San Francisco Treat
Princeton Architectural Press recently feted author Therese Poletti at a launch party for her new book, Art Deco San Francisco. Pictured here (l. to r.), at the San Francisco Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, are: Poletti; photographer Tom Paiva; and Princeton Architectural Press executive editor, Clare Jacobson. 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.