NBN Takes Over Distribution for Continuum

Academic publisher Continuum International Publishing is moving its customer service and distribution to National Book Network as of July 1. The publisher will be NBN's biggest client. Continuum had distributed itself prior to moving to NBN, and while NBN will take over customer service, fulfillment, billing, and collection, Continuum will continue selling its list, and handle its own marketing and editorial services. Its field sales force will continue unchanged.

The PW Morning Report: Friday, May 7, 2010

A roundup of book and publishing news from across the Web: Kindle 2.5; Hazzard Talks to Ford; Sony Sells 10 Millionth E-Book; Food Writing and Writing; Analyzing Miranda July.

Slow Economy, Weaker List Result in Decline at S&S

First quarter sales at Simon & Schuster fell 6.2%, to $151.7 million, as softness at retail from still cautious consumers drove down sales of print books. Somewhat offsetting the decline in print was an $8.4 million increase in e-book and audio download sales, to $12 million, a figure that represents nearly 8% of total revenue. CEO Carolyn Reidy said she expects digital sales to represent 10% of S&S sales by the end of year. Despite the sales decline, S&S posted operating income of $2.0 in the quarter compared to a loss of $2.1 million in last year's first period. Earnings exclude $1.5 million in charges associated with the previously announced restructuring of the S&S sales force and S&S Australia.

The PW Morning Report: Thursday, May 6, 2010

A daily roundup of book and publishing news from across the Web: What Our Words Know That We Don't; Stolen Kids' Books; Forbes on Google Books; Why Google Has Already Won; Foster Wallace in the '90s.

Octopus USA Closes; HBG Will Distribute U.K. List

A reorganization of Hachette UK's Octopus publishing program has resulted in the closure of Octopus Books USA.

Firefly Books Inks Partnership with Hockey Hall of Fame

While hockey fans are engrossed in the NHL playoffs, Firefly Books announced this week that it made a deal with the Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum in Toronto to produce six books over the next three years.First books will be out this fall.

The PW Morning Report: Wednesday, May 5, 2010

A daily roundup of book and publishing news from across the Web: Meet The New Yorker Web Editor; Hunter S. Thompson Goes Back to the Movies; Author Blogging; Salty Kids; A First Book Reviewed.

Rowman & Littlefield to Publish AERA Books

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers has signed a non-exclusive co-publishing agreement with the American Educational Research Association (AERA). The first co-published book, Studying Diversity in Teacher Education edited by Arnetha Ball and Cynthia A. Tyson, is slated for publication in November. Other titles will follow as they are developed.

The PW Morning Report: Tuesday, May 4, 2010

A daily roundup of book and publishing news from across the Web: Apple Sells One Million iPads; Bill Murray Reads Poetry; 50 Business Books; Rewriting a Bad Novel; Silverman Reviewed.

Web-Exclusive Reviews: Week of 5/3/10

Authors on the Air: Rosalynn Carter; Isabel Allende; Ann Hood

Authors on this morning's Today show included former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, whose Within Our Reach: Ending the Mental Health Crisis (Rodale Books, 978-1594868818, $22.99) pubbed last week.

Aquila Polonica Finds Its Niche

Terry Tegnazian isn't Polish, and as far as she knows, neither is anyone in her family or her husband's family. Yet the former Hollywood lawyer has started what might be the world's only publishing house that specializes in books about the Polish experience during WW2. And if early buzz is any indication, the books Tegnazian publishes could prove quite popular. They've been picked up by Book of the Month clubs, received praise from authors like Alan Furst, been named finalists for independent publishing awards, and prompted the release of DVDs of historic newsreels that had long been forgotten.

Taschen to Release Lower-Priced Editions of Some Titles

Taschen is celebrating its 30th anniversary by republishing some of its most popular titles as new, lower-priced "Golden Books." Each month, the house will release a new Golden Book, in a slightly different format than the original and wrapped with a removable "30 Taschen Golden Book" label.

The PW Morning Report: Monday, May 3, 2010

A daily roundup of book and publishing news from across the Web: Free Comic Day; BBC on Salinger; Keeping Tabs on Kindle; iPad 3G Reviewed; Martel Reviewed.

Refocused: Mavjee Reshapes Crown Publishing

The Crown Publishing Group inherited by Markus Dohle has been completely transformed, from a group that included a widely disparate group of imprints, formats, and technologies run by Jenny Frost to a streamlined operation focused on a still broad range of titles, but that are now housed in more identifiable imprints.

101 and Counting: Surprise MIT Hit Spawns Series At Grand Central Publishing

When agent Sorche Fairbank was shopping the proposal for a smartly designed little book on the takeaway highlights its author had gleaned from his time in architecture school, she was convinced the book wouldn't work in a standard paperback format. "We had presses interested and only one saw the value in the horizontal format, and that was MIT Press," she said.

News Briefs: Week of 5/3/10

Second Circuit Vacates Injunction in Salinger Case

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has vacated a September, 2009 injunction barring publication of Swedish author Fredrik Colting's 60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye, which lawyers for author J.D. Salinger argued was an illegal, "unauthorized sequel" to The Catcher in the Rye.

The PW Morning Report: Friday, April 30, 2010

A daily roundup of book and publishing news from across the Web: Philip K. Dick's 8,000 Page Vision Diary; Molly Ringwald's Adult Angst; Rock Star To Kids Author; Turow and Carson Reviewed.

Crown Restructured Into Distinct Groups; Shaye Areheart Books Closed

The restructuring of Crown Publishing that began with the appointment of Maya Mavjee in December and the moving of its non-trade operations into a new unit continued today with the realignment of the group into three new divisions and shrinking the number of imprints from 16 to 14. As part of the restructuring Shaye Areheart Books will be closed with Areheart becoming editor-at-large and the Crown Business and Broadway Business imprints are being combined under the Crown name.