Hachette Book Group

With the steady increase in e-books sales and the growing demand from consumers for this format, many publishers have had to adjust their business models and production processes to provide their books as e-books. According to May sales figures released this week by the Association of American Publishers and the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF), e-book sales increased nearly 163 percent for the month, and year-to-date e-book sales increased 207.4 percent over the same period last year.

Hachette Book Group announced today that #1 bestselling author James Patterson has broken yet another record—this time with tremendous ebook sales. To date, Patterson has sold 1,141,273 ebook units, making him the first novelist ever to surpass the 1,000,000 mark.

(Press Release) Boston—The highly anticipated second-annual Boston Book Festival will take place on Oct. 16, 2010, in various locations around Copley Square. Festival Founder and Director Deborah Z. Porter today announced a partial list of authors confirmed to appear at this year’s event. The featured authors announced now hint at the wide array of programming to come, and include Pulitzer Prize winners, Nobel Laureates, children’s writers, and writers of fiction, non-fiction and poetry:

Book Business and Publishing Executive magazines, producers of the industry-leading Publishing Business Conference & Expo, have announced the editorial advisory board for their second-annual Publishing Business Virtual Conference, called "Digital Content Day @ Your Desk," on Sept. 16.

Little, Brown and Company's new imprint devoted to publishing suspense fiction now has a name: Mulholland Books, taken from Mulholland Drive, a winding stretch of road in the Hollywood Hills. "Its hairpin turns, sharp cliff faces and breathtaking views of Los Angeles have long made it synonymous with drama and suspense," stated Little, Brown, a division of Hachette Book Group, in a press release announcing the name of the new imprint. "The mysteries of Mulholland have inspired countless novels, films and works of art, from the classic mysteries of Raymond Chandler and James M. Cain to the voices of James Ellroy, Michael Connelly, Michael Mann and David Lynch."

When Hachette Book Group (LGDDF) announced that its current biggest-selling author, Stephenie Meyer, would release a new book this month, publishing prognosticators thought it was a savvy move on multiple fronts. The first quarter of 2010 was the first one in nearly two years when sales of Meyer's Twilight novels—which now top over 100 million worldwide—began to dip, taking company profits down a peg in the process.

Self-publishing and online services, e-books, and digital demand printing are joined into a new and powerful sector that is transforming the industry. For industry professionals whose career satisfactions and livelihoods are bonded to the future of the book, this new sector offers a wild ride and a venturesome future.

NEW YORK, June 3—Jonathan Karp has been named Executive Vice President and Publisher of the Simon & Schuster trade imprint, effective June 14. Mr. Karp’s appointment was announced today by Carolyn Reidy, President and CEO of Simon & Schuster, Inc., to whom he will report.

(Press Release) Austin, Texas, May 20, 2010—LibreDigital Inc. today announced that it has closed an $8.1 million Series C funding round led by new investor S3 Ventures with participation from existing investors Adams Capital Management and Triangle Peak Partners. The company's other key investors include HarperCollins Publishers, The New York Times Company and Noro-Moseley Partners. The new capital infusion will be used by LibreDigital to expand e-book services for publishers looking to capitalize on the unprecedented demand for e-books, which is being driven by the release of new devices like the Apple iPad. In addition to being a top Apple e-book aggregator, LibreDigital also powers the delivery of content to other digital devices and marketplaces, including Barnes & Noble NOOK, Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader, Google Editions and many more.

Check out the video highlights from the 2010 Publishing Business Conference & Expo, featuring comments from conference chairs Chris Foster, President & COO, GIE Media; Samir Husni, aka "Mr. Magazine" and founder and director of the Magazine Innovation Center; and Clint Greenleaf, president and CEO, Greenleaf Book Group, as well as from other attendees.