Amazon Bids On Dorchester

Dorchester Publishing, moribund for months, is likely to be acquired by Amazon, which has made a bid to acquire its assets. Amazon will acquire 1,900 active titles and will pay all outstanding royalties owed to Dorchester authors. Amazon has also said it will only take authors who wish to be published by the e-tailer/publisher.

HMH Out of Chapter 11

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has completed its restructuring and emerged from Chapter 11. HMH president and CEO Linda K. Zecher said HMH now has “significantly less debt, a much improved balance sheet and capital structure, and the financial strength to invest in new products.”

News Corp. Restructures

News Corp. is splitting itself into entertainment and publishing companies. HarperCollins will join the publishing group alongside News Corp. newspaper interests such as the Wall Street Journal. Rupert Murdoch will serve as chairman of both groups. The separation will take about a year, and the director for the publishing group has not yet been chosen.

Nook Goes Global

Under the terms of Barnes & Noble’s new deal with Microsoft, the company will look to launch Nook digital bookstores internationally in 10 countries over the next year. The information was in B&N’s 10-k filing with the SEC.

Trial Date for DoJ E-book Case

Judge Denise Cote has set June 3, 2013, as the beginning date for the Department of Justice’s e-book price-fixing case against Apple, Penguin, and Macmillan.

Google Debuts Tablet

Google announced plans to release the Nexus 7, a 7-in. tablet running the latest version of the Android OS in July. The Nexus 7 will sell for $199 (8GB) and $249 (16GB) and is Wi-Fi only.

Vanguard Phased Out

Perseus Books Group is phasing out its Vanguard Press imprint, launched in 2007 and offering no or low advances in exchange for high royalties and more marketing support. Perseus president David Steinberger said the company did not have the resources to sustain the imprint long-term. Vanguard publisher Roger Cooper will step down after the imprint’s final titles are released this fall.

Nook Gets DC Graphic Novels

Barnes & Noble and DC Comics struck a deal to digitally deliver more than 100 classic DC graphic novels via B&N’s Nook tablet devices.