Industry News

By Megan DiMaria

Welcome to the December edition of industry news. 

• Should Amazon and Overstock pay sales tax in New York State? That question will go unanswered since the Supreme Court won’t hear an appeal. Brick-and-mortar stores have long contended that online retailers have an unfair advantage by not charging sales tax. For more info . . . 
• Paraclete Press has announced the establishment of a new center in Italy and has added a new imprint. For more info . . . 
• Long-time press, Moody Publishers has acquired WingSpread Publishers. For more info . . .
• The ECPA 2013 Christian bestsellers have been announced. For more info . . . 
• Sales dip for Books-A-Million, but they’re still optimistic. For more info . . . 
• Apple’s Maverick, an updated version of its OS X operating system, now features support for iBooks. For more info . . . 
• The independent bookselling community is alive and still critical to the success of the book industry. In honor of that, Publishers Weekly has named Oren Teicher and the ABA Board have been chosen as PW’s Person of the Year. For more info . . . 
• Despite sales decline, B&N has posted a 13.7% increase in EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization). For more info . . . 
• Even though it enjoyed a robust debut in 2007 the success of the Espresso Book Machine, “ATM machines for books,” is uncertain. For more info . . . 
• This will take some of the drudgery out of holiday travel. Until January 1st, HarperCollins will provide American Airlines customers a selection of full-length and excerpted HarperCollins books, and Hudson Booksellers will offer a discount on featured print titles bought in Hudson Booksellers stores and online. For more info . . . 
• The Library Journal has announced its Best of list for 2013. For more info . . . 
• Total revenue up in fiscal 2013 for Courier. For more info . . . 
• This is an interesting evolution. Christian retailers are warming to self-published books. For more info . .  
• Winners of the 2013 National Book Awards have been announced. For more info . . . 
• Lee & Low acquires new imprint, Shen’s Books. The acquisition adds to their multicultural children’s titles. For more info . . . 
• Blackstone Audio strikes a deal to Distribute HarperCollins Audio CDs. For more info . . . 
• Good news! According the Cencus Bureau, bookstore sales were up in September. For more info . . . 
• However, AAP’s StatShot statistic program says trade sales were down through August. For more info . . . 
• Pelican BookGroup has acquired the ChristianBookVideos.com web site from Marketing Christian Books, Inc. This comes on the heels of the Pelican Ventures purchasing The Wordsmith Journal (now redubbed TWJ Magazine, a popular e-zine. 
• Although over earnings increased, HarperCollins reported a drop in sales for the fiscal quarter ending Sept. 30. For more info . . . 
• Midpoint Trade Books has entered into an agreement with the Ingram. For more info . . .
• Massachusetts’ Odyssey Bookshop celebrated its first half century. Happy birthday, and for more info . . . 
• MacGregorLiterary, Inc. announces Books on The Dusty Trail, a new website that will feature western novels. It has not been fully launched yet but you can see it here. 
• After more than eight years of litigation, the court dismissed the Authors Guild’s lawsuit over Google’s library book scanning project. For more info . . . 
• New York Yankees Hall of Fame-bound shortstop Derek Jeter is joining Simon & Schuster to launch Jeter Publishing, an elaborate co-publishing partnership that will release adult nonfiction, picture books, middle-grade fiction and more. For more info . . . 
• In a pinch to get Christmas books across the country? Amazon is offering Sunday deliveries in select cities. For more info . . . 
• Snippet, a new publishing and reading app, has moved their Writer Dashboard from private beta to open beta. For more info . . . 
• Romantic Times has announced their reviewers’ choice best book awards. For more info . . . 
• Regnery Publishing adds a middle grade imprint, Regnery Adventure. For more info . . . 
• UPNE, University Press of New England, to launch ForeEdge, a trade imprint. For more info . . . 
• Booksellers and other retail outlets can now sell Kindles, but they aren’t interested in the opportunity. For more info . . . 
• Harlequin sees drop in third quarter sales and earnings. For more info . . . 
• The Book Club Network has acquired Elk Lake Publishing and will launch a fiction line in 2014. For more info . . . 

I'll be back with more industry news on January 7th. Until then, have a Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, and have a Happy New Year. Make the end of 2013 the best you can. Be kind, be patient, be loving, and share some smiles. 

Megan DiMaria is Novel Rocket’s industry news columnist. An author and speaker, she enjoys cheering on writers and loves to encourage others as they journey through life’s demands and delights. Megan is the author of two women’s fiction novels, Searching for Spice and Out of Her Hands.