TODAY'S NEWS

Borders Sales Fall 12% in First Quarter
By Jim Milliot
Borders Group managed to improve cash flow and cut its debt in the first quarter, but the bookstore chain continued to struggle with sales as total revenue fell 12.1% in the period ended May 2, to $641.5 million. Sale at the superstores, which now includes Borders.com, fell 10.7%, to $536.7 million with comp sales off 13.5%. Sales at the Waldenbooks specialty group fell 19.9%, to $76.9 million, due to a combination of 11 store closures and a 5.5% drop in same store sales. A series of one-time expenses ate into the company’s bottomline resulting in a loss from continuing operations of $86 million compared to a loss of $30.1 million in last year’s first quarter. On an operating basis, the loss was $15.9 million down from $30.5 million in the comparable period in 2008. Read on »

Phoenix Books Launches Children's Line
By Lynn Andriani
California publisher Phoenix Books is launching a children’s division. The first book, published under the already existing Dove imprint, will be released in September. Carl Reiner’s Tell Me Another Scary Story... But Not Too Scary! will be a sequel to Reiner’s bestselling picture book, Tell Me A Scary Story… But Not Too Scary, which Little, Brown published in 2007. The line will also include a series for tweens called I (heart)..., about celebrities such as Taylor Swift, Robert Pattinson, Selena Gomez and the Jonas Brothers. Read on »

Eckhart Tolle and MUTTS Creator Become Co-Authors
By Lynn Andriani
Three years ago, MUTTS comic strip creator Patrick McDonnell became interested in the work of Power of Now author Eckhart Tolle, and modeled one of his Sunday color comics on the cover of Tolle’s book Stillness Speaks. The comics artist decided to approach Tolle about working on a project together, and in October, Tolle’s publisher, New World Library, will release Guardians of Being, coauthored by Tolle and McDonnell. In the book, MUTTS characters will illustrate Tolle’s lessons about living in the present moment. Read on »

Barron’s Scores with ‘Museum’
With Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian a box office hit, Barron’s looks like it could have another bestseller tied to the movie franchise. Although it’s best known for reference and education titles, Barron’s hit the bestseller list with a paperback edition of the original movie, Night at the Museum. The company became involved with the project because it published the original children’s picture book on which the film was based, a spokesperson said. The company has printed 100,000 copies of the “junior novelization” of Night at the Museum: Battle of the Museum, which is priced at $5.99. The spokesperson said the title is Barron’s top book at the moment and the company expects Museum to sell well throughout the summer.

James King Wins Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award
By Lynn Andriani
A freelance corporate writer has won the second annual Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. James King, author of Bill Warrington’s Last Chance, landed a $25,000 contract with Viking. “This is an unbelievable feeling,” King said to the small crowd gathered at Battery Gardens restaurant in Manhattan this morning. “It’s a dream come true.” Read on »

Blogs

MORE STORIES

Job Moves
Howard Books, an evangelical Christian imprint of Simon & Schuster, has hired Becky Nesbitt as v-p and editor-in-chief, effective June 1. Jennifer Willingham has also joined the company as v-p, publicity, effective immediately. Nesbitt was most recently associate publisher for nonfiction at Tyndale House; Willingham was most recently at Guideposts Books.

The PW Morning Report
Egmont to Launch Children’s List; Broadway’s New Publisher; Banned E-Reader Now Available; Random House Releases Mass Market Titles for iPhone; Munro Wins Booker International. Read on »

PW's Online Coverage of BookExpo America 2009
Can't make it to the Javits Center for this year's BookExpo? Looking for real-time updates on controversial panels, buzz-worthy books and other happenings from the show floor? Then check out PW's round-the-clock coverage of BookExpo America 2009. We'll also be tweeting from the show; find us on Twitter @PublishersWkly.

AUTHORS ON THE AIR

Authors on the Air: All the News Unfit to Print; Wildflower; The Art Instinct
Today on Good Morning America, media analyst Eric Burns perused All the News Unfit to Print: How Things Were... and How They Were Reported (Wiley, 978-0470405239, $25.95). Read on »

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Memoirists in Washington
Authors Jen Lancaster (l.) and Janna Cawrse Esarey got together at Third Place Books, in Lake Forest Park, Wash., on May 19 for a joint reading. Lancaster read from her new memoir, Pretty in Plaid (NAL), as well as from Cawrse Esarey’s forthcoming memoir, The Motion of the Ocean (Touchstone). (Lancaster provided a cover blurb for Motion.) Read on »

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.