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From multimillion-dollar acquisitions to multimillion-dollar best-sellers, powerful women stand at every pivotal, decision-making point in the book publishing process. Book Business’ first annual “50 Top Women in Book Publishing” feature recognizes and honors some of these industry leaders who affect and transform how publishing companies do business, and what—and how—consumers read.
Stuttgart, Germany-based media company Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck GmbH has changed the name of its U.S. publishing arm, Holtzbrinck Publishers in the U.S., to Macmillan. Macmillan already is the name of the company’s English- and Spanish-language publishing operations in more than 70 countries. According to the company, the name was changed to unify the worldwide presence of the publisher. “The Macmillan name has a long and distinguished publishing history and a long tradition of innovation that complements perfectly the high-quality standards that our publishers offer to our authors and our audience,” says John Sargent, chief executive officer, Macmillan in the U.S. “This name
As CEO and president of iUniverse, Susan Driscoll has helped the pay-to-be-published online publisher to become an attractive alternative to the sort of traditional publishing houses at which she once held executive-level positions, including HarperCollins, Henry Holt and Holtzbrinck Publishers. An affordable avenue for aspiring authors seeking to get published, iUniverse has become one of the largest self-publishing companies since its launch in 1999. Driscoll, who co-penned the book “Get Published” last year, not only is the top executive at the company, but also a mentor to iUniverse’s roster of authors. Where do you see book publishing heading in the next five to 10 years?
Google suffered another setback in its efforts to defend its digital book library when rival Yahoo declined to provide information to assist with an upcoming copyright infringement lawsuit revolving around its digital-book scanning program. Yahoo responded to a Google subpoena and objected to providing information for two upcoming court battles Google will face against the Author’s Guild and McGraw-Hill Companies. The plaintiffs accuse Google of digitizing material without prior consent from the copyright holder. Google had hoped to gain information about how its competitors had undertaken similar projects. Yahoo said in its Nov. 20 filling to the United States District Court in the Northern District of
It’s more important than ever to get books to the market fast. More days in production can mean fewer days on the market and fewer sales. For many publishers, especially those producing many titles simultaneously, good production scheduling tools are essential in keeping projects easily trackable, on schedule and problem-free. Here, Book Business takes a look at some of the industry’s leading software providers and the software on the market to help you with the complex task of production scheduling. AEC Software Product: FastTrack Schedule 9 Description: Colorful timelines and calendars are designed to illustrate project deadlines, status and goals. Production details are centralized, aiming to control your
Amazon.com balked at rival Google Inc.’s request for book scanning data, when it responded this week that it would not provide information the search engine giant had requested via subpoena earlier this month. According to published reports by the Associated Press, Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, filed its objections Monday to the subpoena it was served on Oct. 6. Claiming that revealing the information would expose trade secrets, Amazon was not willing to cooperate. The Seattle-based online book retailer offers “Search Inside,” a feature that offers customers the ability to search inside of select books that publishers have agreed to show potential purchasers. Google
Another chapter in the battle for book search dominance was written last week as Google issued additional subpoenas to other major book search players in a bid for information the company believes could be used in its future legal battles. According to published reports this week by Bloomberg, the Mountain View, Calif.-based company filed paper on Oct. 5 in U.S. District Court to seek information from Amazon.com, Microsoft and Yahoo about each of the rival book searches for future use in several lawsuits Google faces. The world’s largest online retailer (Amazon), largest software producer (Microsoft) and most-popular U.S. Web site (Yahoo) have all announced or
The adult trade business has had to endure many changes in recent years. E-books are seen as a business model alternative, but while they’ve been convenient for consumers, the adult trade revenues aren’t exactly astounding. Sure, mobile content could be a savior of the future, but right now it’s an experiment of the present. With all of that in mind, we look at the present of adult trade. No Denying Technology Brian Murray, group president of HarperCollins, says digital opportunities are growing, and the adult trade market is going to be dependent on how it’s able to grab the Web-browsing consumer. “The bookstore
With a resume filled with shining examples of how to successfully combine traditional media with digital savvy-- from helping to launch Disney Interactive (now Buena Vista Games) to most recently serving as a media and entertainment expert for L.E.K. Consulting--Brian Napack seemed like a natural fit to help steer Holtzbrinck Publishers into the digital era. After month in his new role as president of the company, Napack, 44, spoke with Book Business to discuss what he has in store for the publishing giant during his tenure. Book Business: You have a long history working with both digital and traditional formats. How do you see those
Not even a George Clooney sighting could disrupt the 2006 Book Business Conference and Expo, which took place March 20-22 at the Hilton New York. The celebrity was filming his latest picture just feet away from the conference’s registration area and—predictably—attracted all sorts of ogling from attendees and passers-by, but it was the conference and expo that were the stars of the week. Much like the industry it serves, the conference found itself in an unprecedented state of evolution when it kicked off on Monday, March 20. In its 10th year and amid revolutionary changes in the world of book publishing, this year’s conference
