Scholastic Inc.

Depending on which study results you stumble upon, somewhere between 60 percent and almost 90 percent of Americans don’t like their jobs. And somewhere between 1 million and 1.4 million people call in sick every day. Sure, a percentage of those people probably have the flu, migraines or other ailments, but many of them likely have a serious case of Ihatemyjobitis. Book Business’ first annual study on the “20 Best Book Publishing Companies to Work For” explores which companies in the industry rank highest among their employees for overall job satisfaction. Each company that was nominated by its employees was rated based on

he idea is pretty straightforward: Release a book, create a Web site to go along with it, and, voila, you’ve got yourself a surefire marketing tool. Just putting something on the Web is no guarantee of success, however, which may be why, for many publishers, this simple formula ends up having a lot of variations. Book-companion Web sites—portals providing access to authors, blogs, online forums, games, contests and other multimedia offerings—play a significant role in the world of online book promotion. Standing at the intersection of traditional, publisher-designed marketing strategies, author-driven promotion and self-perpetuating “viral” marketing, thoughtfully planned book-companion Web sites offer

The New York Times is reporting that Scholastic, the U.S. publisher of the “Harry Potter” series, has sued an online bookseller and its distributor earlier this week for “flagrant violations of their strict contractual obligations” by shipping copies of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” before the time and date set by the publisher. A breach of contract suit was filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County in Illinois, in which Scholastic accused Infinity Resources, which owns the online retailer DeepDiscounts.com, of shipping books to some customers up to a week before the on-sale date, according to The Times. Levy Home Entertainment, a

NBC’s “Today” recently launched “Al’s Book Club for Kids,” a four-part series aimed to engage children in reading during the summer break and centered around the morning show’s popular weather man Al Roker. The new series has partnered with Scholastic’s Summer Reading Buzz! Campaign, which challenges kids to read four or more books during their months-long hiatus from the classroom. Both programs hope to combat what commonly is referred to as the “Summer Slide,” when children experience a loss of skills attributed to being out of school for a prolonged period of time. “Scholastic is proud to join with ‘Today’ to promoted

Choosing a cover-material supplier or deciding to switch to a new provider can seem like a game that we don’t know how to play. Knowing what materials are available and which would work best for the look and feel you are trying to achieve for your next book project can be tricky ... and even risky. A bad decision can break a book—after all, aren’t books judged by their covers? Fortunately, representatives at most cover-material companies are available to walk you through the process helping you discover what qualities and features are most important for your needs. “So many questions have to be

With the date—July 21—set for the publishing event of the year, the release of J.K. Rowling’s latest “Harry Potter” novel, signs of the oncoming consumer frenzy are already here. Amazon said today that “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” first-day advance orders taken on yesterday exceed the online retailer’s first-day pre-order number of the previous edition of the series by 547 percent, according to a report by Reuters. Rowling announced the name of the seventh and final Potter book on her Web site yesterday. Lisa Holton, president, Scholastic Trade Books and Book Fairs, told Book Business in an interview in the February issue that the publication of

Several recently published studies have found that kids are becoming “teens” at a younger age than ever before. Children’s book publishers must face the challenge of reaching a changing audience demographic of more independent and mature readers. Lisa Holton, executive vice president of Scholastic and president of the company’s book fairs and trade books, talks with Book Business about the task. ● How are children’s book publishers responding to the trend of children becoming “teenagers” at a much earlier age? Lisa Holton: It’s very interesting to see what kids are actually reading, in terms of understanding whether that trend is true. At

In the ever-changing world of multimedia and shoppers who expect things at the click of the mouse, e-commerce solutions are in high demand. “These days it’s so important to give your Web customers a great experience,” says Jim Morse, president of Morse Data Corp. To do so, it is important to select solutions that fit your company size, scope, staff and budget. The following advice from several e-commerce solution providers can help guide you through the process of deciding which product works best for your company. “A publisher should analyze the cost of not only the development of a solution, but the manpower

Check out these highlights of recent book publishing post changes throughout the industry. Klutz— Doug Analla has been promoted to associate director, marketing and creative services. He was previously creative services manager. Stephanie Wong has been promoted to associate marketing manager. She was previously marketing coordinator. Melissa Brozoski has been promoted to senior coordinator, e-commerce. She was previously e-commerce coordinator.

Check out these highlights of recent book publishing post changes throughout the industry. Scholastic—Trade Book Division David Levithan has been promoted to editorial director of scholastic press, reporting to Ellie Berger, senior vice president, publisher. David was previously executive editor and editorial director of PUSH. David also will continue to be editorial director for PUSH. Jennifer Sanger has been promoted to senior brand manager, licensed marketing. She was previously brand manager.