TODAY'S NEWS

Sales Fall Less Than Expected at Barnes & Noble; Has Improved Outlook
By Jim Milliot
Sales fell slightly less than expected in the first quarter ended May 2 at Barnes & Noble, declining 4%, to $1.11 billion. Sales at its bookstores fell 3.5%, to $989 million, as same store sales dropped 5.7%. The retailer had expected a decline in comp sales of between 6% and 9%. Sales at Barnes & Noble.com fell 7%, to $93 million. The net loss from continuing operations was $2.1 million compared to a loss of $566,000 in last year’s first quarter. The loss was less than anticipated, something B&N attributed to higher than expected sales, improved gross margins and cost cutting. Read on »

U of Mich Signs Expanded Agreement With Google
By Norman Oder
The University of Michigan, the institution that in 2004 launched Google’s vast project to digitize library collections, has signed an expanded agreement with Google that, among other things, provides the school a subsidized subscription to Google Book Search and allows UM, as well as Google’s other library partners, to challenge the pricing of institutional subscriptions. (There are 28 other library partners, but several are outside the U.S., to which the settlement is limited.)

UM hailed it as “an important step in ensuring that the university's vision of broad public access to its print collection becomes a reality.” Library Dean Paul Courant stated, "Through this amendment we are establishing a solid foundation for future library work and providing the greatest public good for library users.” Read on »

Smolan Readies Customized Obama Title
By Jim Milliot
In what the parties are calling the most ambitious effort to date involving a print-on-demand color project, Rick Smolan is teaming up with Hewlett-Packard to publish customized editions of The Obama Time Capsule. The coffee table book will feature photos and text documenting President Obama’s run to the White House plus his administration’s first 100 days in office, augmented with pictures from customers. Smolan, who created the Day in a Life and America 24/7 series, said the books will have nine areas where customers can load their own pictures and text into the book. Read on »

Getty Publications Cuts Non-Publishing Staff
By Wendy Werris
Getty Publications recently laid off 20% of its staff in a move to compensate for a 24% reduction in revenue last year from the endowment that partly subsidizes its publication program. Ten people, including both new and longtime employees, were notified of the layoffs in the middle of April. Three of those employees were able to relocate to other departments within the Museum, but the others either lost their jobs or took early retirement. The publications department now has a staff of 40. Read on »

Viz Media Launches IKKI, New Online Magazine Venture
By Kai-Ming Cha
In the wake of the cancellation of its print Shojo Beat manga fan magazine, manga and anime publisher Viz Media will launch IKKI, a new online magazine venture that will be used as promotional vehicle and to launch new works and to solicit feedback on whether to release some titles in print. Named after the Japanese manga anthology of the same name that is published in print form, IKKI will feature similar material found in their Japanese counterpart publications.Read on »

Blogs

MORE STORIES

Page to Screen: The Clamor for Captain Phillips & an Emmy Winner's Novel
By Rachel Deahl
Although we continue to hear that it's all quiet on the Western front, so to speak, with books making the rounds in Hollywood—a few insiders speculate that the William Morris-Endeavor merger, and the unrest it continues to create among agents on both coasts, may be bottle-necking business—the big man on the scene is Capt. Richard Phillips. Publishers and producers alike are clamoring for rights to Phillips's story, about giving himself up to Somali pirates (to save his crew) and then being himself saved by American Navy Seals. The heroics and the real-life drama made Phillips a media sensation last month and, as we reported earlier this week, a number of publishers are currently competing in an auction for a book from Phillips. CAA, which represents Phillips's life rights—and therefore brokers all deals Phillips makes for any potential dramatic account of his tale—is, we hear, getting quite a few offers from producers. Read on »

Job Moves
The Bookseller reports that Amanda Ridout will leave HarperCollins UK as managing director at the end of June after seven years with the business. The company said she was leaving to pursue other "confidential" ventures. HC said it would be announcing a replacement "shortly."Ridout joined HCUK in December 2001, from Headline.

The PW Morning Report
Workman Sues Tavern on the Green; Google Gives Libraries Pricing Control; The Fall of An Autograph Forger; A Boost from Google Read on »

AUTHORS ON THE AIR

Authors on the Air: The Real Real; Lost Boy; The Billionaire's Vinegar
Today, The Nanny Diaries authors Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus visited Good Morning America with The Real Real (HarperTeen, 978-0061720406, $16.99), their debut title for teen readers. Read on »

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Chenoweth Enter the Beehive
On Monday author and former PW reviews editor Emily Chenoweth read from her debut novel, Hello Goodbye (Random House), at Beehive Books in her hometown of Delaware, Oh. Chenoweth (r.) is pictured here with co-owner of Beehive, Mel Corroto. Read on »

JOB OF THE DAY

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