Industry News

By Megan DiMaria

Welcome to spring and the monthly industry news roundup.

• E-book retailer, Kobo has signed agreements with Nickelodeon Publishing and Blue Apple Books to make their children’s titles available for sale. For more info . . . 
• Class action status granted in the Apple e-book case. Also, the judge rejected Apple’s expert witnesses. For more info . . . 
• And there’s more. New claims have been made against Apple and the five major publishers involved the 2010 e-book price-fixing conspiracy—this time by retailers who claim they were damaged by the scheme. For more info . . . 
• E-book settlement funds with Hachette, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, and Penguin are now being paid out. For more info . . . 
• Social reading app and company, Readmill, to close. For more info . . . 
• Penguin Random House, the world’s largest trade publisher saw a dip in profits last year. For more info . . . 
• The 2014 Bologna Children’s Book Fair confirms continued popularity in middle-grade books, with an emphasis on realistic YA over paranormal and dystopian fiction. For more info . . . 
• After nearly ten years in business, indie e-book retailer Diesel eBooks closed. For more info . . . 
• Brooklyn-based Paper Lantern Lit launches The Studio, a boutique e-publishing imprint. For more info . . . 
• U.S. Census Bureau reports bookstore sales fell in January. For more info . . . 
• Sales drop 10% at Hastings Entertainment. For more info . . . 
• Books-A-Million reports a 5.5% decline in revenue. For more info . . . 
• Scholastic reports a small drop in third quarter sales. For more info . . . 
• John Wiley & Sons report a third quarter drop in income. For more info . . . 
• Hachette Book Group enjoys a “significant” earnings increase. For more info . . . 
• Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s trade division sales rose 9% in 2013. For more info . . . 
• Harlequin reports sales and earning declined in 2013. For more info . . . 
• Widbook, a Brazilian writing and e-book publishing platform, has renovated its service to be more  "intuitive, social and interactive." For more info . . . 
• For children’s books, 2013 was officially the year of Divergent. The trilogy selling a combined 6.7 million copies. For more info . .. 
• Bloomsbury combines its Walker Books for Young Readers imprint into the larger Bloomsbury Children’s Books. For more info . . . 
• A significant ruling regarding backlist e-book rights favors HarperCollins. The judge ruled that e-book publisher Open Road infringed copyright on a HarperCollins contract signed in 1971 with the late Jean Craighead George. For more info . . .  However, damages are not what were previously expected. For more info . . . 
• Newly launched crime and mystery fiction publisher, Syndicate Books, has announced a distribution agreement with Soho Press. For more info . . . 
• Authors Guild members elect new officers. For more info . . . 
• Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) launches comprehensive multi-channel bestsellers list. For more info . . .  
• American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) explains its policy changes. For more info . . . 
• The National Book Critics Circle announce awards for books published in 2013. For more info . . . 
• The Pew Research Center report says Americans are actively engaged with public libraries. For more info . . .
• More good news for libraries—Rowman & Littlefield sign agreement to provide e-books directly to the Douglas County Libraries (Colorado) e-book platform. For more info . . . 
• HarperCollins to rebrand and revamp their It Books imprint. For more info . . . 
• Barnes & Noble gives Microsoft the right to sell Nook content. For more info . . . 
• Amazon raises the annual fee for Amazon Prime clients. Formore info . . . 
• The Retail Industry Leaders Association and the National Retail Federation urge lawmakers to address the sales tax issue concerning local retailers and remote sellers. For more info . . . 
• New app allows folks to read novels in under 90 minutes. Interesting, but what about people who enjoy savoring a book?  For more info . . . 
• Authors, ever feel bullied by Amazon reviewers? You’re not alone. Even Anne Rice has felt their sting. She has joined with other authors and signed a petition requesting Amazon remove anonymity from its reviewers. For more info . . .  

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.