Thanks to bestsellers like Dan Brown's Inferno and Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In, Random House Inc. boasted record profits for the first half of 2013, parent company Bertelsmann reported Friday in what will be the last earnings announcement for the publisher as a stand-alone unit. Sales, however, dipped slightly.Random House merged with Penguin on July 1 to become the Manhattan-based global publishing giant Penguin Random House.Compared to the same period a year ago, Random House revenue fell 3% to 915 million euros or $1.2 billion. Operating income rose 4% to 117 million euros or $155 million. A Penguin Random spokesman credited the increase in profits to "cost discipline" and strong sales growth overseas in ebooks, which have higher margins than print editions.The dip in sales revenue reflected the comparison with the unusually strong first half of 2012, when the Fifty Shades trilogy was topping bestseller lists. The "mommy porn" novels padded this year's sales as well, however, selling an additional 5 million copies in both print and digital editions.As a portion of worldwide sales, ebooks fell to 20% of the total from 22% a year ago, largely due to the drop-off from Fifty Shades, according to the spokesman.Penguin also recently reported solid results, with a 6% jump in sales and a 14% spike in profits for the first half. Penguin's parent company Pearson owns 47% of the merged company, with Bertelsmann owning the rest."We can all take pride in what we have... Continue reading at 'Crains New York'
[ Crains New York | 2013-08-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
This years BookExpo America, an annual publishing business trade show, is full of talk of e-reading and other shifts in the industry. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2011-05-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A pricing war among the big guns of the book industry is causing pain at the checkout screen, but sprouting new opportunities for writers and readers. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-05-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Tue, 24/05/2011 - 08:46 Beautiful Books has launched its own summer reading campaign, providing POS material and an extra 5% off the selected titles ordered by independent bookshops. The four titles being promoted through the Go Against the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Katie Allen Publication Date: Tue, 24/05/2011 - 15:17 Aurum Press has bought a book delving into archive material from science fiction television show Star Trek. Commissioning editor Sam Harrison acquired UK and Commonweath rights to Star Trek Vault: 40 years from the Archives from... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 23/05/2011 - 15:41 Simon & Schuster has defended its publication of Will & Kates Big Fat Gypsy Wedding as fun and gently humorous after Tesco withdrew the book from sale, following complaints. The supermarket pulled the title after... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google's eBooks electronic bookstore now contains about 3 million free titles, up from 2 million when it was launched in December. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Booksellers attending the Canadian Booksellers Association's National Conference in Toronto, May 1315, were introduced to innovations from two Canadian companies designed to help bricks-and-mortar stores sell ebooks. Transcontinental Printing demonstrated its ebook distribution system, which... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 20/05/2011 - 08:33 Century and Arrow publisher Kate Elton is joining HarperCollins to run its fiction team with publisher Lynne Drew choosing to relinquish management responsibilities and concentrating on her authors. Elton will join in August,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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While the Rapture isnt scheduled to occur until Saturday, according to members of certain religious fringe groups, it looks like doomsday has come early for publishers of print books. Amazon announced Thursday that sales of ebooks on the site have finally surpassed combined sales of hardcovers... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2011-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As a former Amazon Associate, I can tell you that a great many sales of Kindle Books are for the 99¢ complete Dickens, etc. Movie critic and Web publisher Roger Ebert, providing some context for Amazons stat about Kindle ebooks outselling print books. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2011-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Fri, 20/05/2011 - 12:10 Random House UK is to publish veteran author Tom Sharpe's backlist digitally after making a direct approach to the author without the involvement of his agent Sonia Land, chief executive of Sheil Land Associates. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 19/05/2011 - 12:19 Readers are being called to cast their vote for the Independent Booksellers Book Prize winner, after the shortlist was announced today. The annual award, which recognises works of fiction for adults and children, asks members... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 19/05/2011 - 09:02 Sphere is capitalising on the interest surrounding the US Navy Seals following the assassination of Osama bin Laden and has acquired Seal Team Six by Howard E Wasdin and Stephen Templin. Sphere non-fiction publishing... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Barbara Casassus Publication Date: Wed, 18/05/2011 - 14:45 The French National Assembly yesterday (17th May) voted into law a bill allowing publishers to fix prices of all ebooks sold in France. The text says that retailers inside or outside France must respect the fixed prices.... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Wed, 18/05/2011 - 15:57 Traditional US print book output in 2010 increased 5% in 2010, despite the huge growth in ebooks, though there was a continuing fall in the number of fiction titles published. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 18/05/2011 - 09:33 Dominic Myers has called on the book industry to collaborate in creating more nation-wide events like World Book Night in order to enhance the dialogue around books. The Waterstone's m.d told the Book Industry Conference forum... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Tue, 17/05/2011 - 15:59 World Book Night in 2012 will see 500,000 rather than 1m books given away, WBN founder Jamie Byng told Book Industry Conference (BIC) delegates this morning, as he also discussed incorporating digital and audio elements... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Mon, 16/05/2011 - 15:26 Random House has soft launched a libraries "buddying" scheme and is in talks with The Reading Agency and others to roll it out for further publishers, the Book Industry Conference heard this morning (16th May). read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As publishers worry about the shrinking number of physical bookstores, Levy Home Entertainment is making the case that mass merchants will be a viable alternative not only to showcase books but to sell them as well. In a presentation at the Book Industry Study Group's May 5 "Making Information... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Audio Publishers Association is set to kick off its 14th annual June Is Audiobook Month campaign, designed to celebrate the industry and bring greater awareness of audiobooks. As formats and consumer habits have changed over the past 10 yearssometimes dramaticallyaudio publishers have kept... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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