Miller to Head HC “Studio”

Bob Miller, longtime president of Hyperion, is leaving the company to join HarperCollins, where he will head a “publishing studio” that will do 25 titles a year in a variety of print and digital formats. Authors will be paid on a profit-sharing basis, and the division is looking at alternative forms of distribution. Target date for the first books is spring 2009, and Miller will report directly to HC CEO Jane Friedman.

Archer Named Hyperion President

With Bob Miller’s move to HC, Disney named Ellen Archer president of its Hyperion book unit. Archer joined Hyperion in 1999 and in 2005 was named to her most recent post, senior v-p and publisher. In addition to spearheading campaigns for some of Hyperion’s biggest books, Archer founded the Voice imprint in 2006.

Weisbach Leaving Weinstein

After more than two years overseeing the refigured Weinstein Books, Rob Weisbach is stepping down. According to a statement from the Weinstein Company, Weisbach is departing to “pursue other publishing interests.”

Lightning Teams with On Demand

Lightning Source has signed with On Demand Books, proprietor of the Espresso Book Machine, in a deal that will give On Demand access to Lightning’s scanning facilities, as well as access to copyrighted material through an opt-in/opt-out clause that Lightning Source will add to its publisher contracts. At present, the titles available through Espresso fall mainly in the public domain. Currently there are only seven Espresso machines in use, but a new, less expensive printer is expected to be ready by 2009.

Bloomsbury USA Down

Led by sales of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, revenue at Bloomsbury doubled in 2007, hitting £150.2 million ($300 million), and pretax profit jumped to £15.9 million from £5.2 million. Results in the U.K. publisher’s U.S. subsidiary, however, were off in the year, falling 10.8%, to £13.4 million ($26.8 million). While sales of children’s books at Bloomsbury USA were up, the adult division had a disappointing year. To return the unit to profitability, Bloomsbury cut seven positions earlier this year. To help expand in the post-Potter era, Bloomsbury acquired the elementary school publisher Featherstone Education.

Curtis Brown, ICM in Joint Venture

Curtis Brown and ICM have signed a co-agenting agreement under which Curtis Brown’s London office will work with ICM to handle the sales of U.K. and foreign rights for ICM clients. As part of the deal, four agents who work for ICM in London, under the agency’s ICM Books outpost, will move into Brown’s Haymarket offices.

Patriot Act Revision Urged

In an open letter published last week in the Capitol Hill trade, Roll Call, the AAP, the ABA, ALA and PEN American Center have called on Congress to approve the National Security Letters Reform Act (S. 2088 and H.R. 3189), an alteration to the Patriot Act that, they think, will return reader privacy.