Book Distribution

The recent collapse of San Diego-based wholesaler Advanced Marketing Services (AMS), and its distribution subsidiary that it took down with it—the much esteemed Publishers Group West (PGW) that it acquired only five years ago—reminded me of the remarkable way in which our industry sorts through 180,000 new titles a year and the millions more in print. Somehow, in a timely manner, the industry moves books into stores, superstores, specialty stores and gift shops, big-box discounters, grocery and drug store chains, and libraries of all kinds—aggregating more than 100,000 accounts that someone has to bill and collect on. Dramatic though the PGW collapse is, drilling

HarperCollins Publishers Worldwide, one of the five largest book publishers in the world and a subsidiary of News Corp., is strategically focused on a digital evolution that will shape the company’s goals and mission in the future. The foundation of this evolution can be traced back 10 years to when Jane Friedman was hired as the company’s president and CEO. According to Friedman, in the past 10 years HarperCollins has increased profits by more than 1,000 percent and its total revenue went from $600 million to $1.3 billion in 2006. The company publishes an average of 4,300 titles globally per year, with 3,100 employees

The book industry is writing a new chapter, as Moka LLC, a “personal mobile knowledge assistant provider,” announces Moka mBooks—which delivers a selection of writings from best-selling books directly to cell phones or e-mail via Short Message Service (SMS) text-message and e-mail technology. SMS is available on most digital mobile phones and a steadily increasing range of other devices (including Pocket PC, desktop computers and some fixed phones) that permit the sending of short text messages between these devices. It is now offering text from 76 introductory titles from authors including Sylvia Browne, Dan Millman, and Wayne Dyer. “We are proud to be bringing

Transcontinental Printing’s Book Group, part of Transcontinental Printing, Canada’s largest printer and the sixth largest printer in North America, circulated a marketing brochure to book publishers this week to promote its latest offering: a new paper made from 100-percent post-consumer recycled material. This marks the first time recycled papers are available from Transcontinental at price parity. The environmentally friendly option, known as “Enviro 100 trade,” can be used by trade publishers short through long runs, or in specialty publications. According to Transcontinental using environmentally friendly options no longer means you have to sacrifice quality and pay top dollar. Until recently these environmentally friendly choices

In the months following the Sept. 11 attacks, museum admissions declined sharply, exhibitions were cancelled, and in the turbulence, administrators began examining whether they could continue to publish books as a result. Today, “there is generally a very optimistic feeling, which is not to say it’s easy. It’s still very difficult, but it’s an exciting time, and I feel really good about our future,” says Yale University Press Publisher Patricia Fidler. “No one was saying that a few years ago.” Currently, her art and architecture division publishes 120 books annually, of which roughly 60 percent stem from Yale’s museum partners. Stephanie Medlock,

Random House Inc. and Lantern Books were recognized for their achievements in environmental sustainability, taking home the first-ever SustainPrint.com Leadership Awards in book publishing. The awards were presented Mon., March 5, during a special reception at the Book Business Conference and Expo, held at the New York Marriott Marquis, Times Square. The SustainPrint.com Leadership Awards recognize book and magazine publishing companies for their achievements in environmental sustainability. Fast Company magazine and the National Wildlife Federation were recognized as magazine publishing leaders. The awards are presented by SustainPrint.com—a Web site developed by Book Business and Publishing Executive magazines to provide a central location for

Springer Science + Business Media does not view Google Book Search as a detriment to its business, but rather as a valuable marketing tool for its popular science, technology and medical (STM) titles. Paul Manning, vice president of book publishing for Springer, attributes much of the recent growth of the company’s back catalog of older titles to its participation with the controversial program. With more than 30,000 titles available in Google Book Search, the publisher saw more than 1 million views in a one-month period, and 20 percent of its “buy this book” clicks on the search were for titles older than 10 years

The first-ever SustainPrint.com Leadership Awards were announced Mon., March 5 at the Book Business/Publishing Executive Magazine Conference and Expo in New York. Random House, Inc., Lantern Books, Fast Company magazine and the National Wildlife Federation took home the inaugural awards, which recognize book and magazine publishing companies for their achievements in environmental sustainability. They are presented by SustainPrint.com, which was developed by Book Business and Publishing Executive magazines to provide a central location for information and resources on environmental sustainability in printing and publishing. Two book publishers and two magazine publishers were recognized with inaugural honors. “We believe that leaders in environmental

Technology is fundamentally transforming publishing. From generating ideas to packaging information to delivering products and beyond, everything is changing. Tim O’Reilly, the founder and CEO of O’Reilly Media, the renowned Silicon Valley-based computer/technology publisher, believes that many publishers are woefully unprepared. His company, one of the leading computer-book publishing companies in the world, is at the forefront of the technologies that have directly shaped publishing of the past, present and future. When I spoke with O’Reilly, he was getting ready to board a plane to New York City to keynote Google’s “Unbound” conference on Jan. 18. The conference was billed as “a day

The inaugural “SustainPrint.com Leadership Awards” will be presented on Monday, March 5, at the 2007 Book Business Conference and Expo in New York. The Leadership Awards recognize book and magazine publishing companies for their achievements in environmental sustainability and are presented by SustainPrint.com—a Web site developed by Book Business and Publishing Executive magazines to provide a central location for information and resources on environmental sustainability in printing and publishing. “We believe it is extremely important to recognize publishing companies that have made significant efforts to improve their environmental impact,” says Noelle Skodzinski, Book Business’ editor in chief, who also directs the editorial