Amazon Debuts Fan Fiction Program

Amazon is launching a licensing and publishing program targeting the world of online fan fiction. Kindle Worlds will allow fans to create new works based on copyrighted characters and sell them in the Kindle store under a broad licensing agreement that will pay both the fans and the copyright holders.

AAP, AEP to Merge

The school division of the Association of American Publishers has agreed to merge with the Association of Educational Publishers, a move that unites two of the largest organizations that deal with publishing for the K-12 market.

Digital, Acquisitions Drive Bloomsbury

U.K.-based publisher Bloomsbury reported that revenue from continuing operations hit £98.5 million for the fiscal year ended February 28, an increase of 1% over the previous year, while pretax income increased 16%, to £9.8 million. The revenue gain was led by a 71% increase in digital sales, which offset a 2% drop in print sales. Acquisitions added £6 million.

E-books 15% Of Canadian Market

BookNet Canada’s latest consumer survey results found that e-book unit sales in the country accounted for about 15% of the market. According to BookNet’s “The Canadian Book Consumer 2012: Annual Report,” the number of e-books sold peaked in the first quarter, reaching 17.6% of total sales, before declining steadily over the rest of the year, accounting for 12.9% of sales in the last quarter.

Hastings Reports Losses

Hastings Entertainment reported a revenue decline of 5% in the first quarter (which ended April 30) compared to the same period last year. The retailer also posted a net loss of $2.2 million compared to net income of $833,000 in the first quarter of 2012. Hastings said that to reduce losses, it cut four of its eight corporate positions in the quarter and will continue its strategy of adding more consumer electronics, music electronics and accessories, hobby, recreation and lifestyle, vinyl, and tablets to its product mix.

Holman, Clarke Move at Orbit

Tim Holman, senior v-p and publisher of Hachette’s Orbit division, will be returning to the U.K. From the U.K., he will continue to oversee Orbit’s publishing programs in the U.S. and U.K. At the same time, Anne Clarke, currently editorial director of Orbit in the U.K., will relocate from London to New York and take up the role of deputy publisher.

Art to Leave Storey

Storey Publishing president and publisher Pamela Art will step down after 30 years with the press. Art has been with Storey since its founding. COO Dan Reynolds will assume the role of CEO and president; editorial director Deborah Balmuth has been named publisher.

E- Ink, Sony Team Up

E Ink Holdings has developed E Ink Mobius, a new version of its e-ink technology that is more flexible and more durable than previous e-ink screens. The screen was developed with Sony which plans to use it on a new line of e-readers to be released in 2014.

Correction

In our May 20 business management feature (p.26), we mistakenly identified Portfolio as a Crown imprint; Portfolio is a Penguin imprint.