Barnes & Noble Same-Store Sales Slide 4.4%
Overall sales fell 6.6% while same-store sales dropped 4.4%.“Barnes & Noble continues to struggle with the sea change in the book industry as Amazon.com now controls the majority of the market and has even begun challenging B&N in the brick-and-mortar world with its own stores,” The Motley Fool said. Read more …
Former WaterBrook & Multnomah Publisher Alex Field Launches New Literary Agency
Alexander Field, former VP & Publisher at WaterBrook & Multnomah, launched a new literary agency and consulting agency. The Bindery is an ambitious, full-service literary agency working closely with authors to set big goals, shape their book ideas, create robust book proposals, and build a marketing and platform strategy, long before anything hits an editor’s desk. Read more …
Baker Publishing and Book House Create e-commerce Site
Baker Publishing Group and independent Christian bookstore Baker Book House launched a new online website www.bakerbookhouse.com that offers the discounts and online shopping. The website features products from all BPG divisions—Baker Academic, Baker Books, Bibles, Brazos Press, Bethany House, Chosen, and Revell.
Authors Question the Novel’s Future in the Face of Declining Attention Spans
During BBC Radio 4’s “Today” program Robert Harris argued that novels have “moved away from the central position in our culture.” Claire Messud suggested that “maybe in 50 years there won’t be novels” due to perceived declining attention spans in readers. Presenter John Humphrys quizzedHarris on whether the novel could compete with other mediums.Humphrys said “You’re slightly anxious – is that the right word – for the future of the novel set against opposing attractions? Read more …
Print, Audiobook Sales Up – eBook Sales Slide
publishers reported higher sales of print books and downloadable audio, while e-book sales continued to slump. With a good, if not great, first half of 2017 behind them, publishers are cautiously optimistic about the remainder of the year. In his letter to PRH employees about the first half results, Penguin Random House CEO Markus Dohle cautioned that, “we face a marketplace heavy with unrelenting new-title competition each week and a crowded media landscape with constantly breaking news and attention-grabbing headlines.” Read more ...