Workman

Nine of the country's leading independent publishers have taken a bold step, and deserve public recognition for their action. On June 25, they submitted a cogent, twenty-page comment to the court objecting to the Department of Justice's settlement with the three publishers on the grounds that it would "adversely impact competition -- harming independent publishers, authors, booksellers and consumers -- and should be rejected." The case itself would still go forward, unless it is dismissed by the judge or is settled in some way that remains to be devised.

If you have anything to do with the book industry, you are probably nauseated by the mere mention of that industry's annual tradeshow, which started on Monday and wraps up today.  But not everyone is some sort of book fanatic—some people just read books and are innocent about the disgusting process that brings them into being, like little children who don't know that babies are generated via

Even as more readers switch to the convenience of e-books, publishers are giving old-fashioned print books a makeover. Publishers are putting more thought into books' aesthetics. Many new releases have design elements usually reserved for special occasions deckle edges, colored endpapers, high-quality paper and exquisite jackets that push the creative boundaries of bookmaking. If e-books are about ease and expedience, the publishers reason, then print books need to be about physical beauty and the pleasures of owning, not just reading. When people do beautiful books, theyre noticed more, said Robert S. Miller, the publisher of Workman Publishing. Its like

The economics of the book business are changing so rapidly the industry barely looks like it did just six months ago.

The era of the book superstores, with their big windows and welcoming tables stacked high with books, has gone into decline. Many of the country's most enthusiastic readers have already switched to less-costly digital books. Amazon customers now buy more Kindle titles than hardcovers and paperbacks.

The Marriott Marquis, Times Square, New York, was abuzz April 4-6 with more than 1,200 publishing industry executives attending the Publishing Business Conference & Expo.

Chapel Hill, N.C.-based Algonquin Books, a division of independent publisher Workman Publishing, has launched the Algonquin Book Club, which will feature four book selections each year as well as literary events related to each selection. The events will be held around the country and simultaneously webcast on the Algonquin Books' website.

The Publishing Business Conference and Expo (April 4-6, 2011 in NYC)—produced by Book Business and Publishing Executive magazines—has announced the speakers of the keynote Executive Roundtable for book publishers, featuring leading executives from various segments of the book publishing industry.

Returns remain a problem for the book publishing industry, although changes to the book-selling landscape brought about by Internet retail, e-books and new distribution models seem destined to make the issue loom less large than it did when mega-bookstores ruled the retail roost.

Peter Workman, founder of Workman Publishing, announced today that Robert Miller will join the company as Group Publisher, effective May 3, 2010. In this new role, Miller will work with the current teams at the Workman, Algonquin, and Artisan imprints to make those successful programs even stronger in the ever-changing publishing landscape. Peter Workman will continue as President and CEO of the company, collaborating
closely with Miller.  Miller was most recently at HarperCollins, where he started HarperStudio, an imprint
that experiments with new models of author compensation, marketing, and distribution,
as well as new digital formats.

San Francisco-based social publishing Web site Scribd Inc. has partnered with major publishers—including Random House, Simon & Schuster, Workman Publishing Co., Berrett-Koehler, Thomas Nelson and Manning Publications—to bring books and other professional works to its community of more than 50 million readers. These publishing partners will upload and share entire novels, sneak-preview chapters and exclusive excerpts from best-selling authors and book series for free on Scribd.com.