Scholastic looks to sell SoHo HQ

Scholastic Corp. is looking to sell all or part of its headquarters in the heart of SoHo’s cast-iron district.The book publishing giant said Monday it hired commercial broker Newmark Group to seek out parties interested in acquiring some or all of the adjoining buildings at 555-557 Broadway, then leasing space back to the publisher of Harry Potter and Clifford the Big Red Dog. The company said sale proceeds would support “capital allocation priorities,” including debt reduction and share repurchases. Scholastic’s plan to lighten its real estate load is part of a broader streamlining plan. Revenue at the publishing house with 5,000 U.S.-based employees decreased last year by 7%, to $1.6 billion, while operating income sank by 85%, to $15 million. The company said Monday that new leadership has been appointed in its children’s publishing and education solutions groups with “clear mandates to refine strategies.” A spokeswoman for the publisher, Anne Sparkman, declined to comment on Monday’s announcement.Scholastic’s share price jumped by 10% on today’s news, to $21 a share. It has lost more than half its value since longtime CEO Dick Robinson passed away four years ago at age 84. Robinson declined to pass control onto his two adult sons and instead bequeathed his shares to Iole Luccese, an executive who was his long “longtime romantic partner,” the Wall Street Journal reported. Scholastic leases 10 of the 12 floors at 555-557 Broadway, or about 300,000 square feet. The... Continue reading at 'Crains New York'

[ Crains New York | 2025-06-23 19:34:33 UTC ]

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Frankfurter Buchmesse Announces WIPO Partnership on Intellectual Property

Frankfurt’s new program with the World Intellectual Property Organization is intended to position book publishing amid accelerating content developments in the creative industries. By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson Boos: Issues Are ‘Evolving at an Extraordinary Pace’ s... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-09-17 09:00:09 UTC ]
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'Hogwarts Legacy' will make you a wizard in 2021

The long-rumored Harry Potter open-world game finally has a release date. Hogwarts Legacy will come out sometime in 2021. Sony shared a lengthy cinematic trailer during its PlayStation 5 showcase detailing what you’ll do the game. You’ll play as a wi... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2020-09-16 20:27:10 UTC ]
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Scholastic UK scores with novel from Ian Wright

Scholastic UK has acquired Striking Out, a novel for children based on the life of footballer Ian Wright. The title is written by Wright in partnership with Musa Okwonga. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-15 21:16:33 UTC ]
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'We haven't seen anything like it since Harry Potter': UK bookshops report record week

With books delayed by the pandemic reaching shops alongside other titles aimed at the Christmas market, the trade has seen sales boomBooksellers up and down the UK are reporting a boom in sales since readers returned to bookshops after the lockdown, with the first avalanche of Christmas titles... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-09-11 12:40:19 UTC ]
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J.K. Rowling returns human rights award amid criticism from organization

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling says she is returning an award from a human rights group linked to the Kennedy family after the president of the organization criticized her comments about transgender issues. Continue reading at CBC

[ CBC | 2020-08-28 20:34:31 UTC ]
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Publishing Professionals Push for Diversification Throughout Industry

Beyond the hiring of diverse editors, four publishing insiders said in a conversation sponsored by the Aspen Institute that if the needs of BIPOC readers are to be met, the industry must bring more diversity throughout the book publishing ecosystem. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-08-26 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishing Leaders Issuing Warning over Amazon’s Market Power

If Amazon's market power over book publishing is left unchecked, competition in the industry will continue to diminish, the heads of the AAP, ABA, and Authors Guild wrote in a letter to the chairman of the House Antitrust Subcommittee. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-08-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Diversity in the Age of Black Lives Matter

Since the killing of George Floyd in late May, the book publishing industry, overwhelmingly white at every level, seems to have reached a period of reckoning about its own history of exclusionary hiring practices. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-08-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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J.K. Rowling and the political poster: Edinburgh advertisement removed

A poster supporting the Harry Potter author, paid for by an anti-trans activist, was removed from an Edinburgh train station for being too political. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-07-31 17:57:33 UTC ]
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The attacks on press freedom in Portland

This week Dave Miller, who hosts a daily talk show on Oregon Public Broadcasting, interviewed “two very tired people”: Tuck Woodstock and Sergio Olmos, both independent journalists. Since late May, daily protests in solidarity with Black lives and against police brutality have taken place in... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review

[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2020-07-24 12:18:51 UTC ]
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Pandemic losses hit Scholastic despite good trade sales

Scholastic has reported a 10% revenue drop for the fiscal year to end May 2020, to $1.49bn, with an overall loss of $88.5m, after Covid-19 battered its fourth quarter. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-24 06:25:19 UTC ]
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Scholastic Looks to Rebound from Q4 Slump

The Covid-19 pandemic led to a 40% decline in fourth quarter revenue at Scholastic and an operating loss of $46 million. The company said it expects a "slower than normal start" to the upcoming school year, and believes it will end the current fiscal year with revenue "slightly below" fiscal 2020. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-07-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Children's news website apologises to JK Rowling over trans tweet row

The Day faced legal action from author after implying that her comments on gender harmed trans peopleA news website aimed at British schoolchildren has agreed to pay an unsubstantiated amount after it implied that JK Rowling’s comments on gender caused harm to trans people.The Day, which is... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-07-23 16:33:19 UTC ]
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Book sales hit record highs in 2019, but publishers ‘now need help’

Figures for last year show sales of £6.3bn, up 20% on 2015, but the Publishers Association says sector needs government support to weather coronavirusBook sales in the UK hit record levels in 2019, driven by a surge in audiobook and nonfiction titles, according to new figures released as... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-07-21 23:01:08 UTC ]
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JK Rowling book sales unaffected by transgender views row

Bloomsbury says books were a lockdown hit, with children’s division revenue up 27%The backlash against JK Rowling’s views on transgender law reform has failed to dent the popularity of the Harry Potter author’s books, with publisher Bloomsbury saying they have proved a lockdown hit, pushing... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-07-21 12:29:43 UTC ]
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Scholastic CEO talks civil unrest, pandemic

When the pandemic shut down U.S. schools nationwide in March, Scholastic Corp. immediately offered a free online learning hub for millions families with kids Continue reading at ABC News

[ ABC News | 2020-07-05 14:03:09 UTC ]
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Mission-Driven Indie Bookstores Drop J.K. Rowling's Books

Three mission-driven indie bookstores well-known for their commitment to social justice have ceased stocking books written by J.K. Rowling, accusing the Harry Potter author of promoting hatred towards transgender people. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-07-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
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John Bolton’s passive voice

John Bolton’s tell-all book about his time in the Trump administration was supposed to come out on March 17. Then it was supposed to come out on May 12. It didn’t come out on either date, because in both cases, the White House, which Bolton served as national security adviser until September,... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review

[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2020-06-23 12:10:14 UTC ]
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Four authors leave Blair Partnership over Rowling controversy

J K Rowling's agency The Blair Partnership has lost four of its author clients over the controversy surrounding the Harry Potter author's views on transgender law reform.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-22 05:27:06 UTC ]
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I Am the Faceless Woman on the Cover of Your Novel

POC Book Cover Model I feel the most brown facing a solid, bright background that seduces preteens at the Scholastic fair. My long black-as-licorice braids with their sweet virginal shine beg for pity, are maybe a metaphor for tradition, repression, machismo, all the miserable Mexican girls that... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-06-15 11:00:00 UTC ]
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