TODAY'S NEWS

Third Quarter Profits Jump at Harlequin
Lower costs helped to boost third quarter operating profit at Harlequin, with earnings up 22.5%, to C$22.9 million ($21.6 million and current exchange rates); profits had a C$2 million benefit from foreign exchange. Revenue increased 3.7%, to C$122.5 million ($115.4 million). Sales in the North America retail market fell slightly in the quarter, while sales in the direct-to-consumer business rose modestly. Read on »

Sourcebooks PoetrySpeaks to Sell Poems by the Work
By Jim Milliot
Having carved a successful niche for her company in the poetry market with Sourcebooks’ Poetry Speaks series by combining books and CDs, Dominique Raccah believes she can help poets and poetry publishers make money over the Internet through the company’s newly launched PoetrySpeaks.com. The Web site features three different sections, PS Voices, SpokenWord and YourMic, designed to create an online community that will let poets manage their own information page, provide a channel for published and unpublished poets to download material, and to sell both print and digital works. "We want to bring poetry to as broad a group of consumers as possible," said Raccah. Read on »

Simon & Schuster Unveils Internal e-Galley System
By Rachel Deahl
Simon & Schuster has unveiled an e-galley program to provide digital ARCs to the media. Galley Grab, which is still in beta at www.galleygrab.com, offers DRM protected downloads of S&S titles for review and feature coverage which can be read on varioues e-readers, including the Sony eReader, Nook, and Kindle. Read on »

Tantor Audio Readies Four Sherlock Holmes Titles
Tantor Audio will release four unabridged audiobooks taken from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's four Sherlock Holmes novels later this month. The newly recorded audiobooks will be available in time for the new Sherlock Holmes movie, starring Robert Downey, Jr., set to open in theaters on Christmas. The novels---A Study in Scarlet, The Sign of Four, The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Valley of Fear---will be narrated by Simon Prebble, and will include two bonus features: one of Doyle's short stories and a companion e-book. The audiobooks will be available November 23 in a variety of formats.

Obituary: Dike Blair
Robert “Dike” Blair (b. 1919), who founded The Vermont Book Shop in Middlebury sixty years ago, died on October 31. He is survived by his wife, Reba, three daughters and four grandchildren. In 1993, Blair sold the store to Laura and John Scott. He lived long enough to see his legacy pass on to another new owner, Becky Dayton, in 2005. In addition to bookselling, Blair turned publisher and brought out a dozen titles under the Vermont Books imprint, including his own Books and Bedlam.

Contributions in Blair’s memory can be made to: The Middlebury Volunteer Ambulance Association, 19 Elm Street, Middlebury, VT 05753 or The Addison County Home Health and Hospice, P.O. Box 754, Middlebury, VT 05753.

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The PW Morning Report
A Price War Roundup; Obama’s Brothers’ Books; Palin. Read on »

AUTHORS ON THE AIR

Authors on the Air: Donald Spoto; Jonathan Lethem; Barbara Kingsolver
On today’s Good Morning America, noted film biographer Donald Spoto revisited High Society: The Life of Grace Kelly (Harmony, 978-0307395610, $25.99; Tantor Media unabridged CD, $34.99). From PW’s review: “Cinephiles will love Spoto's insider look at Hollywood in the 1950s, and even those unfamiliar with Kelly's films will be drawn to the author's warm and generous portrayal of a woman who was more than a pretty face.” Read on »

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Albom Keeps the 'Faith' Outside Portland
Mitch Albom recently stopped by the Costco in Tigard, Ore., to sign copies of his new book, Have A Little Faith (Hyperion). Albom (c.) is pictured here with the Costco event team. Submit your pictures here »