How Elf On The Shelf Went From Family Tradition To The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

From self-publishing and selling out of the trunk of a car to millions of dollars in sales and a blue-sky spot in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the creators of Elf on the Shelf discuss how they packaged up a new American tradition. Innovators often have those “blue sky” moments, times where they close their eyes and conjure ideas on the grand scale. But for three business owners, the actual sky was the backdrop for their biggest dream: to see a 46-foot tall inflatable elf sailing through the air during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. Not just any old elf, though. Twins Christa Pitts and Chanda Bell and their mom Carol Aebersold wanted to see that North Pole scout from Elf on the Shelf become the first storybook character selected from an independent publisher fly in the parade since Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit (self-published in 1901) sailed down Sixth Avenue on the way to Herald Square.Read Full Story Continue reading at 'Fast Company'

[ Fast Company | 2012-11-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #business owners #chanda bell #beatrix potter

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Record Day for 'What Pet Should I Get?' at BAM

Following record-breaking sales for Harper Lee’s 'Go Set a Watchman' on July 14, Theodore Geisel’s 'What Pet Should I Get?' repeated that feat at the nation’s number two chain retailer two weeks later, on July 28. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #record-breaking sales #harper lee #chain retailer


The day I met EL Doctorow: from Persian translations to his view of a writer's duty

After celebrated novelist’s death last week, Saeed Kamali Dehghan remembers an interview with him on everything from books to Iran’s copyright infringementMost famous writers don’t have a clue that their work has been translated into Persian and that they are literary celebrities in Iran. When... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-07-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #eventually find #copyright protection


Family Christian Stores Bankruptcy: PW’s Coverage

Keep up to date with the Family Christian's bankruptcy with PW's ongoing coverage, from the initial filings to the latest proposed deals. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #family christian


Details of Family Christian Stores’ New Ownership Plan Emerge

Family Christian Stores aims to land under new ownership by Aug. 11 in order to recover from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon breaks global sales record on Prime Day

Amazon said sales during its first ever Prime Day broke global records, receiving 398 orders per second across Prime-eligible countries.   Sales on 15th July or Prime Day – when the retailer offered heavy discounts to encourage shoppers to sign up to Amazon Prime membership – were 18% higher... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #prime day #15th july


First-day sales for Harper Lee 'top 105k'

Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman (William Heinemann) racked up first-day sales in the UK of over 105,000 copies, across print and digital editions, according to publisher Penguin Random House. Meanwhile Waterstones' own sales for the title are approaching 30,000, m.d. James Daunt told The... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #first-day sales #harper lee #digital editions


What did you buy for Prime Day?

Well, July 15th is behind us and Amazon's promise of deals bigger than Black Friday. If you were looking for Christmas in July, did you get it? I wasn't that impressed with the selection of Lightning Deals and exclusives, but perhaps you were. Or not. My purchase, and call me crazy (some... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2015-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #prime day #black friday #lightning deals #kindle unlimited #personal library


Go Set a Watchman's UK sales top 100,000 in one day

Harper Lee’s ‘parent novel’ to To Kill a Mockingbird sets tills ringing despite ambivalent receptionDespite the widespread doubts over the decision to publish Go Set A Watchman, and despite the cries of horror that went up around the world over the weekend as readers discovered that the godlike... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #atticus finch #william heinemann #wednesday morning #news agenda #publishing history


Historic Day One Sales for 'Watchman'

Barnes & Noble and Book-A-Million have both pronounced that 'Go Set a Watchman' had the largest first day sale of any adult fiction book in the history of both retailers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #historic day #barnes noble #day sale


'The Seven Good Years' collects quirky, touching family stories by Israeli writer Etgar Keret

Etgar Keret presents his memoir: a series of raw and witty stories that document seven years of a father-son relationship. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Joseph Goebbels' family win legal battle to be paid royalties for diary extracts

Random House Germany had argued against paying to publish Nazi propaganda minister’s diaries in new biography on moral groundsDescendents of Joseph Goebbels, Adolph Hitler’s propaganda minister, are to be paid royalties for extracts from his diaries published in a new biography, following a... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #joseph goebbels #adolph hitler #propaganda minister #copyright laws #moral grounds


Amazon launches global Prime day

Amazon is launching Prime Day, "a new global shopping event, offering more deals than Black Friday", open solely to members of its Prime service. The first such day will be held on Wednesday 15th July and will offer customers in the UK, US, Spain, Japan, Italy, Germany, France, Canada and... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #lightning deals #black friday #prime service #offer customers


Apple loses ebook price-fixing appeal on same day as Apple Music launches

On the same day as Apple Inc.'s release of its much-anticipated Apple Music streaming service, a federal court upheld a ruling Tuesday that states the company illegally conspired with book publishers to drive up prices for ebooks to compete against Amazon.com Inc., USA TODAY reported. The... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal

[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2015-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #apple launches #fix prices #circuit court #book publishers #music service #company maintains


ALA 2015: On a Historic Day, Roberta Kaplan Delivers a Powerful Keynote

Roberta Kaplan, who argued the historic defeat of the Defense of Marriage Act in 2013, offered a powerful opening keynote speech at the 2015 ALA annual conference in San Francisco, just hours after a historic Supreme Court decision legalized same-sex marriage. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-06-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #historic day #historic defeat #marriage act


Here's what J.K. Rowling revealed about 'Harry Potter' family the Dursleys

Rowling recently delved into the history of the Dursleys on the website Pottermore, discussing their relationship with Harry's parents Lily and James and what really happened with Harry's Aunt Petunia in the final 'Potter' book. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #rowling revealed #website pottermore


Publishers Prepare to Ramp Up News Distribution on Facebook’s Instant Articles in Coming Days

Publishers are ready to ramp up content distribution on Facebook’s Instant Articles in the coming days, people familiar with the matter said, with some newsrooms preparing to post a few dozen stories a day. Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2015-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publishers prepare #news distribution #coming days #content distribution #people familiar #dozen stories


US 'Grey' sells 1.1m in four days

The latest instalment of Fifty Shades of Grey has sold 1.1m copies in the US in all formats, Penguin Random House has revealed. Anne Messitte, publisher of Vintage Anchor in the US, said Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian sold 1.1m copies in trade paperback, ebook and audio in the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #latest instalment #fifty shades #1m copies #trade paperback


"Record breaking" sales for Grey on first day

Cornerstone has claimed that the first day sales of ‘Grey’ have been “record-breaking” for an adult paperback in the industry. The latest edition of E L James’ bestselling series – Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian went on sale around the world yesterday, just 18 days after the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #day sales #latest edition #bestselling series #fifty shades


Sale Motion Denied in Family Christian Bankruptcy Case

A United States Bankruptcy Court has denied the sale of Family Christian Stores, the largest retail Christian chain in the country, to FC Acquisition (a company founded by FCS owners to buy back the business). Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-06-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fc acquisition #company founded #buy back


'Busy day' for shops as Christian Grey arrives

Waterstones is expecting a "busy day" marking the release of the latest edition of E L James' blockbuster hit series Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told By Christian (Arrow). The chain's flagship Piccadilly store in London has a front of store window display dedicated to the release (pictured),... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #latest edition #fifty shades