Sunday, January 31, 2010

E-Book Reader Market Will Spark $2.5 Billion in Revenue by 2013

Yankee Group forecasts that the already hot U.S. e-book reader market is about to catch fire, sparking from $1.3 billion in revenue in 2010 to $2.5 billion by 2013.

In "Yankee Group's US E-Book Reader Forecast: Kindling a Fire," analyst Dmitriy Molchanov reports that as devices such as Amazon's Kindle, Barnes & Noble's Nook, Sony's Reader, Interead's COOL-ER and enTourage's eDGe adopt more palatable price points-Yankee Group sees $150 as the sweet spot-the market will respond in kind.

"Unlike the iPod, which hooked serious music buyers in addition to a raft of casual listeners, e-book reader adoption will be limited to heavy readers only-at least until prices come down," said Molchanov. "But we see the average price of e-book readers declining by roughly 15 percent per year for the next five years, resulting in 55 percent increase in adoption rate year over year."

The Yankee Group further noted that by 2013:

-U.S. e-book reader sales will reach 19.2 million, a CAGR of 34 percent, with 6 million e-book readers sold in 2010 alone.

-The U.S. installed base of e-book readers will hit over 36 million,up from an installed base of 9 million by 2011.

-Half of all consumers who indicate interest in buying an e-book reader will have bought one already, so device makers should act quickly.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Rodale to Publish Book by Actor & Oceans Activist, Ted Danson

Rodale Books is proud to announce the acquisition of Ted Danson's forthcoming book, which will be a celebratory and cautionary look at the world's oceans.

Best known for his character Sam Malone on the era-defining Cheers and more recently for his roles in HBO's critically acclaimed new series "Bored to Death," and FX's "Damages," Danson has also been a long-time crusader on behalf of marine issues. Having grown up with an archeologist father around the Hopi and Navajo communities of Flagstaff, Arizona, Danson never expected that he'd become an advocate on behalf of the earth's oceans. It wasn't until 1987, while walking along the California coastline with his daughter and seeing a "Beach Closed" sign, that the issue really hit home. Danson was saddened to find himself having to explain that pollution was responsible for the closing of the beach. Since then, he's made it his mission to ensure that those conversations don't continue to happen.

Written with award-winning journalist Mike D'Orso, Danson's book represents a culmination of more than two decades of study, activism, and teaching and will provide a decisive, inspiring, and hopeful look at one of the most important environmental concerns of our time. Danson's access to leading scientists, fishermen, politicians and others on the forefront of this issue—along with his unique vantage point—will make for a lively, informative, and highly original look at the state of our planet's biggest and most vital natural resource. Danson is a founder of the influential non-profit American Oceans Campaign; serves on the board of Oceana (AOC merged with Oceana, the world's largest non-profit devoted to marine issues, in 2001); has testified before Congress and Senate on the subject; narrated the 2009 documentary The End of the Line (the first major feature documentary film to reveal the impact of over-fishing our oceans); and lectures regularly and widely on the topic.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Archie Comics Teams With Random House Publisher Services

Archie Comic Publications, Inc., a leading publisher of comic books in America, has reached an agreement with Random House Publisher Services, a division of Random House, Inc., the world's largest English-language trade-book publisher, to exclusively handle worldwide distribution of Archie graphic novels and trade paperbacks.

The agreement with Random House Publisher Services marks the first time that all Archie paperback titles will be available from one source for both domestic and international trade bookstore distribution. Distribution of the Archie paperback line through Random House will commence on September 1, 2010. The direct comic store distribution of the Archie comics, digests and graphic novels will continue through Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc.

Editor & Publisher sold to Calif. publisher

Newspaper trade magazine Editor & Publisher was sold to an Irvine-based trade show company and publisher of boating and fishing magazines Thursday.

Online reporting on the Editor & Publisher Web site and blogs resumed immediately after the sale to Duncan McIntosh Co. Inc., two weeks after the Nielsen Co. shut down both the Internet and monthly print editions.

The media trade magazine, which has covered the newspaper industry for over 100 years, did not provide any details on the terms of the transaction.

A message left with Duncan McIntosh seeking comment on the sale was not immediately returned Thursday night. The company produces boat shows in California and publishes Boating World, Sea Magazine, The Log Newspaper and FishRap.

Charles "Chas" McKeown will continue as publisher of New York-based Editor & Publisher and supervise a five-person staff. Mark Fitzgerald, who had served as editor-at-large, was named editor, replacing the previous editor, Greg Mitchell.

"Such a critical information source for a newspaper industry so desperately in need of help should not go away," Duncan McIntosh told Editor & Publisher. "I've been a reader of E&P over the course of 30 years and know its incredible value to readers and advertisers."

The new owners plan to publish a February issue and continue the magazine's monthly production schedule

Exclusive Worldwide Publishing Agreement for Sesame Street Videogames

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has entered into a multi-year exclusive agreement with Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street. Under the terms of the agreement, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has the right to create and publish interactive videogame titles worldwide based on Sesame Street, one of the most beloved and the longest running children's television program.

Sesame Workshop and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group's commitment to bringing compelling preschool content to consumers will also be furthered by the release of upcoming DVD titles in 2010. The worldwide videogame partnership is in addition to the Sesame Workshop and Warner Home Video multi-year, exclusive home entertainment distribution deal for the Sesame Street library, new content, EST and Transactional VOD for distribution in the United States and Canada.

The games will offer kids both educational and entertaining content, to get preschoolers playing, laughing and learning with their favorite Sesame Street characters. Aligned with the standards of Sesame Workshop, the games will provide engaging learning experiences developed around particular types of curriculum.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Lerner Publishing Group Acquires Darby Creek Publishing

Lerner Publishing Group announced today the acquisition of Darby Creek Publishing, effective January 1, 2010. Darby Creek will operate as an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group. Lerner Publishing Group purchased Darby Creek Publishing from Media Source, the parent company of Junior Library Guild and The Horn Book. The imprint will add approximately 58 titles to the Lerner Publishing Group list, bringing the total number of books in print to nearly 5000.

Established in 2002, Darby Creek, located in Columbus, Ohio, publishes K–12 fiction and nonfiction titles for the school and public library markets, as well as for the trade bookstore market. Darby Creek is the publisher of such bestselling authors as Lurlene McDaniel, David Lubar, and Joseph Bruchac and produces top-quality children’s books that appeal to all young people, especially reluctant readers.

Iceberg Interactive Acquires Publishing Rights for Sail Simulator 2010

Premier PC and videogame publisher Iceberg Interactive is very announced the signing of publishing rights for various countries for Sail Simulator 2010 PC. Developed by Dutch studio Stentec Software, Sail Simulator 2010 is the most professional sailing simulator ever made and will amaze sailing and simulation enthusiasts with its stunning look, feel and realism.

Iceberg Interactive has acquired the rights for retail and digital download release in the United Kingdom & Ireland, France, Scandinavia, Benelux, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The UK will kick off with a 26th February 2010 release, with Dutch, French and German releases later in Q1 and Q2.