HarperCollins

For the first time, HarperCollins will release an e-book before the print edition, The New York Times reported. "Muhammad," a fictionalized biography of the Prophet Muhammed by Deepak Chopra, was made available for purchase in e-book form Sept. 8, weeks prior to the hardcover release on Sept. 21.

(Nashville, Tenn.) Thomas Nelson, the world's largest Christian publisher, announced today that an investor group led by Kohlberg & Company has acquired a majority of its stock. This investment will significantly improve the company's capital structure and eliminate the majority of its long-term debt.

It was another meeting of book publishing industry minds, as members of the Bookbinders' Guild of New York gathered at Random House's Manhattan headquarters May 11 to discuss the rapidly transforming business of producing books. "Digital Horizons: The Evolving Book" featured presentations from Ken Brooks, senior vice president, global production and manufacturing services, Cengage Learning; Bob Stein, founder and co-director of the Institute for the Future of the Book; and Michael Cader, founder of PublishersMarketplace.com and Publishers Lunch.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”
 
A great sentence that could well have been written about 2010 and the world of book publishing. For Debbie Stier, a lifelong member of Publishing’s elite, it would be easy to see the glass as half empty.

Perspectives on the shifting publishing marketplace, and threats and opportunities surfacing as a result, seem almost to have divided the industry. Some see print as holding fast as the primary bread-and-butter for publishers, with e-books and other digital products growing, but remaining as incremental revenue. Others see the current growth in e-book and new digital reading devices, and a younger generation of digital-bred readers pointing toward a future where "e" will be the primary revenue driver in most publishing businesses.

Publishers have emerged victorious in the e-book pricing war with Amazon. The world's largest online retailer has conceded to the demands of three major publishing houses and will cease heavily discounting new best-selling e-books, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Amazon and Macmillan already exchanged fisticuffs about money in February with Macmillan leaving the ring unscathed. Now Simon & Schuster and HarperCollins have joined the bandwagon in refusing to allow retailers to set e-book prices.

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.

HarperCollins Publishers announced this week the launch of inkpop (www.Inkpop.com), an interactive writing platform for teens, which the company says is the first of such sites to be backed by a major publisher. Created by HarperTeen to attract young readers and writers, inkpop combines community publishing, user-generated content, and social networking to connect rising stars in teen literature with talent-spotting readers and publishing professionals.

On Tues., Jan. 26, a panel of executives explored “Back-Loaded Book Deals: No (and Low) Advance Contracts, Profit-Sharing and Other Innovative Business Models,” during F+W Media's Digital Book World conference at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers in New York City. The main philosophies driving the discussion: more mutually profitable arrangements for publishers and authors, true partnerships and transparency.

In perhaps the worst-kept-secret in Silicon Valley history, Apple today announced the launch of a tablet device it's calling the iPad to an auditorium of press, tech folks and Apple fanboys.