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Indigo Third Quarter Up
Sales and earnings rose at Indigio in the third quarter ended December 26.
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Kobo Prepares Tablet Apps
Kobo, the newly independent incarnation of Canadian Indigo Books & Music’s e-bookstore Shortcovers, has announced that it is developing applications for Windows 7, Android and additional operating systems, which will make Kobo’s service available for tablet and slate computers in February.
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Grand Central Launches New Imprint
Grand Central is launching a new imprint dedicated to the lifestyle and wellness category called Grand Central Life & Style. The move will see current GCP imprints Springboard Press (which is focused on nonfiction books for baby boomers) and Wellness Central (focused on health titles) folded into the new line.
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Borders Refutes Debtwire Story
Late Friday afternoon, Borders issues a statement casting further doubt on a story that appeared first on Debtwire.com about delaying payments to some small publishers.
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Barnes & Noble.com Realigns
A spokesperson for Barnes & Noble confirmed a number of reports that there was some changes last week at Barnes & Noble.com, although she couldn’t provide many details.
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Chelsea Green Partners with Kimbell Sherman Ellis
Chelsea Green Publishing is partnering with Kimbell Sherman Ellis, LLP (KSE), a strategic communications firm with offices in Montpelier, Vt. (where Chelsea Green is located), Cambridge, Mass., and Washington, DC. President and publisher Margo Baldwin said the alliance is meant to “redesign” the way books are publicized and sold in the digital age, especially in regards to Chelsea Green’s roster of authors who are able to speak to current political issues.
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Author Solutions CEO Addresses RWA, MWA, SFWA in Video Statement
Self-publishing company Author Solutions, which has weathered a fair amount of scrutiny in recent months thanks to its alliances with traditional publishing houses, has released a video statement from its CEO asking for cooperation from three authors’ guilds. In the three-minute spot, Kevin Weiss calls for Romance Writers of America, Mystery Writers of America, and the Science Fiction Writers Association to join him for a discussion about “choice and opportunity” in book publishing.
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Correction: Lowenstein Sandler Not Repping Publishers
Regarding today's story about a group of smaller publishers hiring Lowenstein Sandler to represent them in possible actions against Borders, a spokesperson from the firm issued the following: "The statement in the article that 'a group of smaller publishers has hired the bankruptcy group of Lowenstein Sandler as legal counsel' is incorrect."
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Concerns over Borders Grow
Debtwire reports that a group of small publishers has grown frustrated by slow payments by Borders. The Debtwire report that the group has hired the bankruptcy firm of Lowenstein Sandler, however, was refuted by a firm spokesperson. Publishers interviewed by PW said they were current with the chain, but are growing more concerned about the inability of the company to improve its results.
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Good Books' Mayo Clinic Diet Debuts at #1
Intercourse, Pa., publisher Good Books, known for its bestselling Fix-It and Forget-It cookbooks, has another bestseller on its hands. The Mayo Clinic Diet is the first diet book the house has ever published, and, as publisher Merle Good said, “It’s always rewarding to step into a new field and go straight to the top.”
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Amazon, Booklocker Settle
Booklocker and Amazon have reached a settlement agreement in the antitrust class action lawsuit Booklocker filed against the e-tailer in 2008.
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Job Moves
Simon & Schuster Australia has promoted Lou Johnson to managing director. Johnson has been with the company since July 2008 as sales and marketing director.
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Random House, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins Contribute to Haitian Relief Efforts
Random House has made a $100,000 donation to relief efforts in Haiti. “So many of us are moved and disturbed by the death and devastation,” wrote CEO Markus Dohle. Simon & Schuster’s Pimsleur, which publishes foreign-language learning programs, is offering free downloads of its Haitian Creole language program. And HarperCollins is working through its parent company, News Corporation, on donating to the relief effort.
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Pearson Expects Better Earnings
Good gains in higher education led Pearson to report earnings for the year will be higher than expected. The company noted that Penguin had a good holiday season.
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Holiday Sales Disappoint at Borders Group
Comparable store sales were down 14.6% at Borders's superstores over the holidays, with total revenue down 13.7%. CEO Ron Marshall called results disappointing and said the retailer must intensify its efforts to boost profitable sales.
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FastPencil Expands into E-Books
Last week, self-publishing outfit FastPencil began offering writers the ability to publish e-books and release e-versions of individual book chapters. Previously, most FastPencil content was formatted as PDF files. But with the new format process, writers can generate content and store it in a format that will work on Kindle or any other e-reader.
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Goodman Reacquires Stone Bridge Press
Stone Bridge Press founder Peter Goodman has reacquired the Berkeley, Calif. publisher that he sold to Yohan, Inc, the Japanese book distributor, in 2005.
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Running Press Archive Donated to University of Pennsylvania
The archives of the Running Press have been donated to the University of Pennsylvania Libraries, where they will become part of the university’s growing collection of materials about book publishing and the intellectual and esthetic history of Philadelphia.
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Haights Cross Communications Files Pre-Packaged Bankruptcy
With the support of lenders, Haights Cross Communications has filed for prepackaged bankruptcy in a Wilmington, Del. court.
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Conversation Piece: PW Talks to Daniel Menaker
PW talks with the legendary editor about his new book 'A Good Talk: The Story and Skill of Conversation' (Hachette/Twelve), and the publishing business then, now, and in the future.
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