TODAY'S NEWS

Weak School Sales Drop Results at McGraw-Hill Education
By Jim Milliot
With sales in its school group down 19.6%, to $501.3 million, revenue at McGraw-Hill Education fell 11.6%, to $1.0 billion, in the third quarter compared to the same period last year, and operating profit decreased 15.9%, to $298.1 million. Sales in the higher education/professional and international group fell less dramatically than the school segment, off 1.8%, to $498.7 million. Foreign exchange rates reduced revenue by $11.4 million and operating profit by $4.9 million. Read on »

Hyperion Postpones James Arthur Ray Books Following Sweat Lodge Deaths
By Lynn Andriani
Hyperion has postponed the publication of two books by self-help author James Arthur Ray, following the author’s possible involvement in the deaths of three people and hospitalization of 21 others in a sauna-like sweat lodge at an Arizona resort last month.

The house was planning to release a paperback edition of Ray’s bestselling Harmonic Wealth: The Secret of Attracting the Life You Want and a new book, The Seven Laws of True Wealth, by Ray in December. But on October 9, the news broke that Ray had led a “spiritual warrior” experience at a retreat center near Sedona, Ariz., in which 50 people crowded into a makeshift structure covered with blankets and plastic and heated with fiery rocks in the hopes of a spiritual cleansing—resulting in injuries and deaths. Hyperion spokesperson Marie Coolman said the books have been postponed until January 2011. Read on »

Google Opponents Urge Court to Reconsider Restrictions on Revised Settlement
By Andrew Albanese
A broad group of opponents to the Google Book Search Settlement filed a letter with the Court on October 22 urging judge Denny Chin not to restrict comments on a revised settlement and to allow more time for would-be class members to assess any proposed revisions. In the letter, opponents write that the parties’ requests to “limit the notice, time and scope of objections” would be “unfair.” It comes after an October 7 status conference at which Chin set November 9 as the date by which the parties must submit revisions to the settlement for the court’s preliminary approval. Attorneys for the parties have said they hope for a final hearing on the new settlement as early as in late December or early January. Read on »

Oprah.com, CNN.com and Facebook Collaborate for Book Club Webcast
Next Monday, Oprah.com, CNN.com and Facebook will present a live Oprah's Book Club webcast for the current selection, Say You’re One of Them by Uwem Akpan (Back Bay). During the 90-minute event, readers will be able to submit questions for the author and may be featured during the live discussion. The proceedings will be streamed live simultaneously from CNN.com's video player on Oprah.com. Additionally, CNN.com will utilize Facebook Connect, which will allow users to comment through their Facebook profiles without leaving the live webcast.

Counting Down To National Bookstore Day
With National Bookstore Day coming closer, another 30 stores have signed on for the event in the last week, bringing the total number of stores to 80. Among the new stores to join National Bookstore Day, set for November 7, are Broadway Book Mall, Denver; Jabberwocky Books, Music & Video, Eagle River, Wis.; Jackrabbit Hollow, Peabody, Kans.; California's multistore Books Inc.; and Novel Ideas Bookstore, Baileys Harbor, Wis. Stores from around the country are preparing different displays to promote the importance of bookstores to communities. To participate in National Bookstore Day or to learn about what others are doing to promote the day, go to www.publishersweekly.com/bookstoreday.

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MORE STORIES

Industry Happenings: PW's Calendar of Events
Check out PW's new calendar of events to find out about upcoming parties, conferences and other industry happenings. Read on »

The PW Morning Report
Powell’s on the Pricing Wars; Amazon Working on Kindle App for Mac; 4% of British Have Read E-Book; The New Yorker Fest; HP Does Book Scanning; Bloomberg on E-Readers; R. Crumb Reviewed. Read on »

On-Sale Calendar Call for Information
An e-mail went out today asking publishers to give us information about their biggest titles for January 1-April 30, 2010. We’re looking for hardcover, trade paperback originals, and movie tie-ins with 50,000-copy or larger first printings.

If you have any books—hardcover, trade paperback originals or movie tie-ins—with first print runs of 50,000 or more, and have not received the e-mail, please contact Sonia Jaffe Robbins at srobbins@reedbusiness.com to get the formal e-mail request.

AUTHORS ON THE AIR

Authors on the Air: A History of Ghosts; The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; Thelonious Monk
On this morning’s Today show, Peter Aykroyd (co-author) and son of actor Dan Aykroyd (who wrote the introduction) offered up A History of Ghosts: The True Story of Seances, Mediums, Ghosts, and Ghostbusters (Rodale, 978-1605298757, $25.99). Read on »

PICTURE OF THE DAY

The Bible According to Crumb
W.W. Norton executive editor Robert Weil threw a star studded party at his Manhattan apartment over the weekend for cartoonist R. Crumb and his new bestseller, The Book of Genesis Illustrated. Pictured: the irrepressible R. Crumb sits comfortably on the lap of Emily Gordon, editor in chief of Print magazine, while Weil looks on. Submit your pictures here »