Enderlin to Head SMP Paperbacks

Jennifer Enderlin has been promoted to senior v-p and publisher of St. Martin’s Griffin and St. Martin’s Paperbacks, taking over the publishing duties of Matthew Shear, who died late last month. Enderlin will continue to edit and acquire titles for SMP.

July Store Sales Drop 6.3%

Bookstore sales fell to $808 million in July, down 6.3% from the same month in 2012—the second consecutive month that the retail segment had a meaningful decline in sales. In June, bookstore sales dropped 9.5%. For the first seven months of 2013, sales were down 2.1%, to $6.86 billion, according to estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau. Bookstores are having a difficult time in summer 2013 with comparisons to the blockbuster sales of the Fifty Shades trilogy last year.

Tyndale, NavPress Ink Partnership

Christian publisher Tyndale House has formed an alliance with NavPress, the publishing arm of the Navigators ministry. NavPress will remain separate and continue to acquire and develop content, maintaining an editorial staff in its Colorado Springs, Colo., office. Tyndale will take over manufacturing, warehousing, marketing, sales, and fulfillment. Charlie Dokmo, Navigators chief of staff, will continue as interim CEO of NavPress. There will be an as-yet-undetermined number of layoffs at the publisher, most before Oct. 31, though some staff will be laid off three to four months later.

Wiley Earnings Dip

John Wiley reported flat sales and a 9% drop in operating income in the first quarter ended July 31, compared to the same period last year. The flat sales were attributed, in part, to currency fluctuations and a decline in print sales that was not entirely offset by higher digital sales. Sales fell in the professional development segment but rose in research (formerly STMS) and education. Total revenue held steady at $411 million and operating profit was $35.6 million. Job cuts fell particularly hard in the professional development segment in the quarter, as Wiley, after selling most of its consumer assets, continued to remake the division.

U.N.C. Press Gets $250K Grant

The University of North Carolina Press has been awarded a $250,000 grant from the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust to address challenges brought about by the digital transformation in publishing. Press director John Sherer will lead the effort to implement investments in digital infrastructure. Earlier this year, U.N.C. Press received a $100,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation of New York aimed at also exploring the impact on publishing of various forms of digital scholarship.

M&O to Handle RUP Sub Rights

The McIntosh & Otis literary agency will handle subsidiary rights for Rutgers University Press, including “but not limited to” paperback reprint, audio, e-book, book club, foreign, film, and TV and stage rights. The agency has similar deals with L.S.U. Press and the University of Nebraska Press.