Borders Gets Extension; Sale Process Heats Up
The bankruptcy court last week approved Borders Group's motion that the retailer be given an additional 120 days beyond its original June 16 deadline to file and solicit acceptances for a Chapter 11 reorganization plan. During the hearing, Borders's attorney said the retailer has had multiple buyers for at least part of the chain and that Borders could file a plan for selling the company in two to four weeks. Earlier it was reported that the
equity firm Gores Group has been in discussions to acquire about 200 Borders outlets.

No Progress on Google Settlement
At a five-minute status hearing on June 1, attorney Bruce Keller told Judge Chin that no decisions have been reached on any key issues in the Google Book Settlement. Although the AAP and Authors Guild issued separate statements saying they were hopeful further negotiations could lead to a successful resolution with Google, they both said renewed litigation is possible. Chin set the next status hearing for July 19. Chin rejected the amended settlement agreement in March.

Dolan Gets HMH Imprint
Eamon Dolan, who had seen his role at Penguin Press scaled back earlier this spring with the appointment of Scott Moyers as publisher, is returning to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, where he will head Eamon Dolan Books. The imprint will do about 10 books annually devoted to narrative nonfiction titles.

Indigo Sales Up, Earnings Down
Indigo Books & Music reported 5% revenue growth for its fiscal year ended April 2, to C$1.02 billion, but said its net earnings dropped to C$11.3 million from C$23.6 million in the previous year. CEO Heather Reisman said the drop in profit was due to large-scale investments in Indigo's e-reading spinoff, Kobo, and new lifestyle product line.

‘Go the F**k
To Sleep' At 275K Copies
Akashic Books hit the jackpot with Go the F**K to Sleep by Adam Mansbach and Ricardo Cortes, an adult parody of a kids' picture book set to go on sale June 14. The surprise hit title has more than 275,000 copies in print.

EBSCO Buys H.W. Wilson
EBSCO Publishing has acquired the Bronx-based H.W. Wilson Company, which offers more than 80 databases on its WilsonWeb platform. Wilson is a natural fit for EBSCO, which said the "vast majority" of Wilson databases will be maintained, while some will be merged with related EBSCO databases.

Gibbs Smith Reorganizing
Gibbs Smith Publishing is reorganizing in order to meet the financial challenges it has faced since 2008. After reducing staff by 39% in February 2009, 17 employees began a four-day work week in May of this year. The publisher's educational unit has been hurt by cuts to schools and libraries, and sales of titles tied to the home market have declined because of the housing bust. To compensate, the press now concentrates more on cookbooks and its children's titles, and continues to expand its digital operations. Unit sales at Gibbs Smith are now up 7% over last year, and the company said, "2012 will be a defining point for us."