Leonard Adds To Books



Music publishing giant Hal Leonard Corp. has expanded its presence in the book market with the purchase of Amadeus Press and Limelight Editions. Leonard acquired the two, which have about 300 titles, from John Cerullo, who will remain with Leonard as the group publisher of the company's New York—based trade division. Cerullo has been a consultant to Leonard's trade operations. Leonard already owns Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, which will remain under the direction of Michael Messina.

Preiss Properties Closed

Byron Preiss Visual Publications and ibooks Inc., two companies founded by the late Byron Preiss, shut down last week and a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition has been filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. A court-appointed trustee is to be named to oversee the liquidation of the companies. Preiss died in a car accident last summer.

Mass Market For WestBow

Thomas Nelson's WestBow Press imprint will launch a mass market paperback line in March. WestBow will sell the titles through ABA, CBA and mass market channels, and expects to publish 14 to 18 reprints this year. Original mass markets are possible in the future.

New Editors For Grau/Spiegel

Julie Grau and Cindy Spiegel have appointed Chris Jackson executive editor of their fledgling Doubleday division. Jackson was most recently a senior editor at Crown. Also on board is Michael Mezzo, who has been named editor. Mezzo joins from Little, Brown, where he was an associate editor.

Szabla to Join Feiwel

Liz Szabla, editorial director of Scholastic Press, has been named v-p and editor-in-chief of the new children's unit at Holtzbrinck, reporting to senior v-p and publisher Jean Feiwel. Szabla will join Holtzbrinck March 7, working with Feiwel, who left Scholastic last year, to build an as-yet-unnamed children's imprint.

Muller Back At BEA

Courtney Muller, who ran BookExpo America in the late 1990s, is once again overseeing the publishing industry's largest trade show, taking over from Chris McCabe, who has headed BEA since 2004. Muller will add oversight for BEA to her other responsibilities, which include overseeing Reed's portfolio of gaming events. She expects to name a successor to McCabe soon.

BAM Enters Kansas

Continuing its slow expansion beyond the southeast, Books-A-Million will open its first store in Kansas later this year. The new superstore will be in a megacomplex being developed in Kansas City.

New Borders Loyalty Program

Borders has launched a new customer loyalty program that it will implement throughout all of its U.S. bricks-and-mortar stores. Borders Rewards will be free to customers, with no enrollment costs or annual fees. Members will earn rewards every time they shop, get exclusive savings every week and earn Personal Shopping Days every month.

Kleckner to Holtzbrinck Sales

Steve Kleckner has been named v-p and director of merchandise sales at Holtzbrinck's realigned merchandise sales division. Kleckner was most recently with TokyoPop, where he was v-p, sales and distribution. The newly formed merchandise sales group will be responsible for selling all of Holtzbrinck's titles to the mass merchandiser channel.

Bookspan's FTC Agreement

Bookspan has agreed to pay a $680,000 civil penalty for telemarketing activities that the FTC said violated the National Do Not Call Registry between October 2003 and August 2004. Attorney JoAnne Adlerstein, who represented Bookspan, described the penalty as "an amicable resolution of very technical issues." Bookspan no longer uses telemarketers to get customers.

Hills Retiring

After more than 40 years in the industry—26 with Simon & Schuster—editor Fred Hills will retire in April.