Hachette Book Group

November 16, 2012 – Hachette  Digital today announced the launch of Hachette Book Group’s EPUB3 program.  Hachette Digital is committed to the EPUB3 format, which allows greater flexibility in representing enhanced content, including interactive covers,

Digital book sales were up 3 percent during Q3 2012 at the Hachette Book Group as compared to Q3 2011, according to financial results released today from HBG’s parent company The Lagardère Group.

According to the financial report, Lagardère’s net sales were approximately $795 million, up 4.2 percent on a reported basis during Q3.

FaithWords, the Christian division of Hachette Book Group, has entered into a publishing partnership with Casa Creación—the Spanish-language imprint of Charisma House, Charisma Media's book division—to broaden the reach of its authors. Hachette will handle the U.S. Spanish market, while Casa's focus will be Puerto Rico and the rest of the Spanish-speaking world.

In talks since July's International Christian Retail Show in Orlando, Fla., the two publishers signed an agreement this month to work together.

Nothing cast a pall over the publishing world like news of the Department of Justice's ebook price fixing case against Apple and five of the big six publishers. While Apple, Penguin and Macmillan aren't slated to go to court until 2013, Hachette, Simon & Schuster, and HarperCollins have already settled, and the effects are already being felt.

What will this all mean? How and why did the case come about? And what can publishers do once the verdict is reached?

Many ebook buying consumers in 49 states will soon receive payments as a result of the states’ settlement with publishers HarperCollins, Hachette and Simon & Schuster. The states have provided a few more details about how those payments will work and have changed some things slightly.

In a document filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the states’ attorneys lay out two modifications to their original settlement:

“Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling’s new book for adults, The Casual Vacancy, was published yesterday to great fanfare and decidedly mixed reviews. Some ebook readers are holding on off on purchasing the digital edition because it’s priced at $17.99 (here’s why), but e-reader owners who did buy it right away are in for a disappointment: It’s basically unreadable, unless you have a magnifying glass.

Arnaud Nourry, Chairman of Hachette Livre, announced today that after seven years at the helm of Hachette Book Group, David Young has decided to return to the UK to be with his family.  His last day as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hachette Book Group will be March 31, 2013.  He will remain Chairman of HBG and will return to the U.S. approximately one week per month.

Updated In a decision that could start an e-book price war in the publishing industry, a federal judge on Thursday approved a settlement between the Justice Department and three major publishers in a civil antitrust case that accused the companies of collusion in the pricing of digital books.

The long-expected approval soundly rejected criticisms of the deal that had accumulated throughout the summer from hundreds of parties, including Barnes & Noble, the Authors Guild and the American Booksellers Association.

Watchmen it ain't, but the brief condenses complex arguments admirably. The anti-trust case against Apple, Macmillan and Penguin, all accused of conspiring to fix ebook prices, thunders on, but one part of it is shortly to come to a close. Three of the originally accused publishers – HarperCollins, Hachette and Simon & Schuster – agreed to settle with the Department of Justice in April this year, and that settlement is finally coming through.

In the first half of the year, the Hachette Book Group derived 27% of its revenues from digital publishing, according to an announcement from the company today. Digital revenues were up 20% in the first half of the year compared to the first half last year.

While digital growth was strong at the book publisher, it represents a significant slowdown compared to the early years of digital at Hachette. In 2008, digital publishing accounted for about 1% of Hachette’s overall revenues.