TODAY'S NEWS

With Weak First Half, RH has “Much Catching Up to Do”
by Jim Milliot
New Random House CEO Markus Dohle appears to have his work cut out for him, as parent company Bertelsmann reported this morning that sales for its publishing group fell 8% in the first half of 2008, to 766 million euros ($1.13 billion), and EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) tumbled 29.5%, to 31 million euros ($46 million). In a letter to all worldwide employees, which are also Dohle’s first public comments since taking over as CEO June 1, Dohle didn’t mince words about the situation RH finds itself in. “We have much catching up to do from September through December to reach our ambitious targets,” Dohle wrote. Read on »

Dutton Signs Major Multimedia Trilogy
By Rachel Deahl
Dutton has laid out big money for what it's dubbing a "digi-novel" by the creator of the C.S.I. television franchise. The Penguin imprint paid millions for a multimedia three-book series from Anthony Zuiker that, at its centerpiece, features a mystery novel which will send readers to a Web site with companion footage relating to the plot.

Zuiker's chapters will close with codes that readers can use online to unlock "motion picture footage" that continues the storyline from the book. The deal, for world rights, was made by president and publisher of Dutton, Brian Tart, with a littany of players: Dan Strone, CEO of Trident Media, Brillstein Entertainment Partners, Morris Yorn and Barnes & Levine and CAA. Read on »

Left Bank Takes Center Stage
By Claire Kirch
There’s a lot happening this fall at Left Bank Books in St. Louis. The store, which celebrated its 39th anniversary in July, is opening a downtown store, which at 5,500 square feet, is significantly larger than its 4,000-square-foot soon-to-be flagship store in the city’s Central West End neighborhood. St. Louis developer Craig Heller, the owner of Loft Work Company, is financially backing Left Bank’s second location for the first three years, after which store co-owners Kris Kleindienst, Barry Leibman, and Jarek Steele can opt to buy Heller out and assume complete financial responsibility for the store.

“Heller will be responsible for all expenses,” Kleindienst told PW, disclosing that she and her partners hope to open the downtown outlet by Thanksgiving. The store also will be called Left Bank Books and will carry the same selection of books and sidelines as the Central West End store, “with more of a focus on tourists and conventioneers,” Kleindienst said. “And we’ll have events there to draw in the growing residential population downtown we’ll be serving.” Read on »

'Rocky Mountain News' To Run Original Fiction
By Edward Nawotka
As host for the Democratic National Convention, Denver is very much in the spotlight right now. The city is also celebrating its sesquicentennial anniversary this year, an event that is being marked in an unusual fashion by the Rocky Mountain News: The paper has commissioned 11 short stories from local writers that they will publish each Tuesday starting next week. Read on »

Business Plus Signs Krzyzewski's Post-Olympics Book
By Rachel Deahl
In the second book deal to emerge from the Olympics, following Michael Phelps signing with Free Press for his memoir, men's Olympic basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski has signed to do a book about leadership for Hachette's Business Plus imprint. The house acquired world rights from Krzyzewski's agent, David Falk. Read on »

Blogs

AUTHORS ON THE AIR

Authors on the Air: Stalking Irish Madness; State of the Unions; In Defense of Food
Today, Talk of the Nation interviewed Patrick Tracey, whose Stalking Irish Madness: Searching for the Roots of My Family's Schizophrenia (Bantam, $24) is just out this week. PW explained: “While Tracey finds no conclusive answers, his book helps to dispel misconceptions about schizophrenia and reveals the various attempts by experts to make sense of this mental illness.” Read on »

PICTURE OF THE DAY

O'Brien Talks Owls in La Jolla
On Tuesday night biologist Stacey O’Brien was at Warwick's in La Jolla, Calif., discussing her memoir, Wesley the Owl (Free Press), about the 19 years she spent caring for an injured barn owl. Pictured here with O’Brien (r.) is Nancy Horan, director of Sky Hunters, a local non-profit that rescues and rehabilitates injured, abandoned or orphaned raptors and her 2-1/2-year-old education barn owl. 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.