March Bookstore Sales Up

Bookstore sales in March hit $931 million, up 1.1% over the same month last year, according to preliminary estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau. For the first quarter of 2013, bookstore sales were up 2.2%, to $4.03 billion, compared to the first quarter of 2012. Across the entire retail segment, sales rose 2.6% in March and were up 2.8% for the first quarter.

HBG Sales up 14.9%

Revenue at Lagardère Publishing rose 6.6% in the first quarter, which ended March 31, compared to the same period in 2012. The company posted sales of €419 million for the first three months of this year, driven by a strong performance at its U.S. subsidiary, Hachette Book Group, where revenue in the quarter increased 14.9%. E-books did well in the quarter at HBG and accounted for 34% of trade book sales at the end of the period, up from 30% last year.

Prichard to Head OCLC

Online Computer Library Center—a cooperative that helps libraries share book data worldwide—has announced that Skip Prichard will succeed Jay Jordan as OCLC president and CEO. Jordan, 70, will retire on June 30 after 15 years at the helm. Prichard, most recently president and CEO of the Ingram Content Group, and a former president and CEO of ProQuest Information, will officially assume his new role July 1.

Goldstein Joins S&S

Cary Goldstein, who stepped down as publisher of Twelve in April, is joining his old boss Jonathan Karp at Simon & Schuster. Goldstein has been named v-p, executive director of publicity and senior editor at the flagship imprint, and will start at the publisher on June 3. In his new role, he will be overseeing the publicity department and, S&S said, acquiring “a select number” of titles. With Goldstein’s hire, Tracey Guest is leaving S&S.

Conroy Named Editor at USC Press

The University of South Carolina Press has named bestselling author Pat Conroy editor-at-large of Story River Books, the publisher’s new original fiction series. Under Conroy, Story River Books—named for a river Conroy swam as a teenager—will brand and grow USC Press’s commitment to publishing top-notch regional fiction. The series will focus on original novels and short story collections about South Carolina.

Ruckus Teams With CPTV

In an unusual arrangement that could provide a model for public-broadcast-driven content delivery, Ruckus Media Group is teaming with Connecticut Public TV to create a CPTV-branded platform that will deliver interactive content via mobile devices. In June, the partnership will begin releasing a variety of e-books, videos, and interactive books featuring a mix of content from the Ruckus Media Group and CPTV.