Publishing chief discusses how the rise of the ebook has affected the industry, the value of a good cover design and why there is no glass ceiling in the sectorTell us a bit about your role at Penguin and how you got there.I am the managing director of Penguin General Books, which is one of seven adult divisions within the newly formed Penguin Random House publishing conglomerate. Our authors include novelists Zadie Smith, Colm Toibin, Nick Hornby, John le Carre, Zoe Heller, Jonathan Coe, Jonathan Safran Foer, Mohsin Hamid, Penelope Lively, India Knight, Ali Smith, Dave Eggers, Marina Lewycka and non-fiction writers such as Antony Beevor, Clare Balding, Claire Tomalin and Alain de Botton.I've been running Penguin General for four years and before that I was marketing and publicity director across all of Penguin Publishing. I've been at Penguin for just over 15 years in total and before that I had a very brief spell as editor of the Sunday Telegraph magazine, was marketing and publicity director at the then small independent publisher Fourth Estate (now part of Harper Collins) and began my career as a book publicist at Heinemann.The rise of the ebook has brought about enormous changes to the publishing industry in recent years. How has Penguin responded to this?Penguin published the first ebooks in the UK very early in the 21st century and well before most readers knew they wanted to consume books this way. Penguin's ebook sales now account for about 12% of total... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2014-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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When you deal with a lot of people, along with the brilliant stuff comes very dumb stuff as well. Inexperienced voices should be forgiven but when the big and powerful make appalling statements you have to ask yourself how they ever got their jobs.Here are some of the ones that have left me most... Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-08-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Creative consultant JC Suares shares some of the biggest headscratchers he's heard from editors, publishers and designers. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-08-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 01/08/2011 - 08:59 Digital sales have helped to bolster profitability for Penguin in the first six months of 2011, with company chiefs looking for organic growth and a focus on the high street over the second half of the year. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 29/07/2011 - 09:30 Penguin reported lower sales and profits in the first half of 2011 as it adjusted to the "unprecedented challenges" afflicting the publishing sector including the loss of high street booksellers in the US and Australia... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell and Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 29/07/2011 - 09:25 Store managers at Waterstones have been reacting with mixed feelings and some confusion to James Daunts plans to reintroduce centralised buying into the chain bookseller, as they await more details about the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Fri, 22/07/2011 - 09:32 Books-A-Million has bid for up to 35 US Borders stores in a last-minute offer to try and save part of the 40-year-old bookselling chain. The chain, which also runs stores under the names Books & Co., Bookland and Joe... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Tue, 19/07/2011 - 10:17 Simon & Schuster senior commissioning editor Francesca Main is leaving the publisher to become editorial director at Picador. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Fri, 15/07/2011 - 08:50 Borders could cease to exist by the end of next week although the retailer's lawyer said it has received other inquiries that could result in a takeover. On Wednesday a committee of unsecured creditors rejected a takeover... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the more simple days of selling, advertising sales executives dealt in print, closing deals on a monthly cycle. Now, as technology drives opportunities for publishers, sales execs are faced with an ever-growing portfolio of products and services to offer to clients. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 11/07/2011 - 08:50 Michael Neil, Waterstone's former commercial director, has joined HMV as its new commercial director. He has been appointed to the retailer with immediate effect and replaces Gary Warren, who recently left to pursue new... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 08/07/2011 - 11:15 Hamish Hamilton has acquired award-winning Spanish author Javier Marías' new novel, The Infatuations with a five-figure advance, with Penguin Modern Classics scooping seven titles from his backlist in a simultaneous deal... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Unit sales of print books sold through outlets measured by Nielsen BookScan fell 10.2%, to 307.1 million, in the first six months of 2011 ended July 3. The decline comes as no surprise as ebook sales continued to eat into sales of physical books, and the weak economy limited consumer purchases... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Fri, 08/07/2011 - 13:33 Suffolk County Council has drawn up plans to put the financial management and staffing of its libraries under a central organisation in a bid to reduce costs and save any libraries from closure. Ideas for how the "vision"... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Tue, 05/07/2011 - 09:44 Penguin and Sainsbury's are to jointly launch a new website to support the Sainsbury's Book Club, launching on 21st July. The Book Club will run from 7th July 2011 to July 2012. As reported in January, the book club this... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Tue, 05/07/2011 - 09:59 Nicola Morgan is to be the libraries director at the Arts Council. Morgan is currently programme manager, sector improvement at the Museums, Libraries and Archives council, which winds up this autumn. She will take up her new... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publication Date: Tue, 05/07/2011 - 08:30 Free Word has appointed Rose Fenton as director of the organisation, with her first day to be 12th September. The Free Word Centre in London is a house of literature, literacy and free expression, hosting debates, readings and conferences. Ten... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Robert Newman is now creative director with Readers Digest; he served as a consulting creative director with RD since December. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 20/06/2011 - 14:00 Penguin has released an iPad version of Jack Kerouac's legendary beat novel On the Road, which includes side by side comparisons of Kerouac's scroll draft and the final version. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 08/06/2011 - 09:29 An early engagement with books in the home is a core function of a child's future success, the former director of Ofsted has said. Speaking at a parliamentary reception for the children's literacy charity Volunteer Reading... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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