Hachette Book Group

Orbit, Hachette Book Group's science fiction and fantasy imprint, will launch a digital short fiction publishing program later this year.

Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, announced that #1 bestselling author James Patterson's thriller WORST CASE will be released as an e-book with enriched content on April 3, 2010. The first such release by this author launches fans of "America's #1 storyteller" (Forbes) into a newly enhanced reading experience.

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, a division of Hachette Book Group, announced that it will release the first new title from Stephenie Meyer in nearly two years. "The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner" is a novella told from the point of view of Bree, a character originally featured in Eclipse, the third book in the "Twilight" series. The 192-page novella will be released at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, June 5 in hardcover for $13.99, with a first printing of 1.5 million copies. It also will be available as an e-book beginning at 6 a.m. EST on June 5.

Lagardere Publishing, which includes Hachette Book Group, delivered an all-time record performance in 2009, parent company Lagardere SCA reported. The publishing group's total earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) increased 24 percent to approximately 455 million dollars.

In today's evermore environmentally conscious society, many publishers have implemented "green" practices. Over the past two years, major publishing houses, such as Random House, Simon & Schuster and Scholastic, have joined a number of independent, smaller and midsize publishers in launching formal environmental sustainability policies, reflecting the priority increasingly being placed on being "green" by readers, retail partners and employees.

What does it mean when a city of 230,000 loses its lone bookstore, as is happening to Laredo, Texas, in early 2010? With a world of books available to purchase online, is it merely a symbolic loss, or is there something more deep-rooted at work?

On Wednesday, Jan. 27, Apple finally confirmed escalating rumors of its impending tablet, with Steve Jobs' announcement of the company's new iPad—which many describe as looking and functioning like a big iPhone—with a 9.7-inch, LED backlit, color touch-screen and WiFi, and an option for 3G via AT&T.

Nonprofit advocacy organization Green Press Initiative (GPI) announced that the U.S. book industry has passed "a meaningful environmental threshold." Approximately 50 percent of publishers now have environmental commitments in place—most with goals and timelines for vastly improving their environmental and climate performance. "This is significant due to the fact that as recent as 2001, virtually no publishers had environmental commitments on record …," according to a GPI press release. 

Today, the U.S. book industry passed a meaningful environmental threshold—approximately 50 percent of publishers now have environmental commitments in place–most with goals and timelines for vastly improving their environmental and climate performance

The "Best Book Publishing Companies to Work For" list is Book Business’ annual ranking of companies that embody the philosophy that a company’s employees are the key to its success, and that employee happiness translates to a more motivated, productive workplace. Many companies on the list show that being a great company isn’t just about offering an attractive benefits package (though that certainly helps). The companies that made this year’s list create environments where employees are valued and respected professionally, and they also work to help enhance employees’ personal lives. Whether it’s through profit sharing, ample paid time off, telecommuting options, childcare services, fitness facilities, adoption assistance or pet-friendly policies, these companies go the extra mile to keep their employees happy—and it shows.