Publishers

Two Princeton academics have launched a new eBook imprint that ties public domain eBooks and current movies. Scarlet Oak Press is making enhanced eBook editions of major films based on classic books that are coming out this fall and winter.

The enhanced editions include original introductions, an annotated study guide, maps and illustrations, as well as what Scarlet Oak Press is calling a “page-to-screen history.”

Simon & Schuster has a new Facebook fan page to promote books and host book club events. The initiative is called Something to Read About: The S&S Book Club.

In exchange for “liking” the page, readers can access exclusive content such as moderated discussions with “Book-of-the-Month” titles, as well as the opportunity to interact with selected authors. Fans can also check out photos and videos and win free books.

The first S&S Book Club event is for Jaycee Dugard’s memoir A Stolen Life. The virtual event will take place on Wednesday, October 12 from 1-4 pm EST. A Simon & Schuster moderator will lead the discussion, as Dugard is not participating in the discussion.

For publishers and authors interested in hosting their own virtual book clubs, check out our post on How to Host A Video Book Club Visit.

Random House saw eBook sales triple in the first half of 2011, as compared to sales in the same period in 2010.

Bertelsmann, the group that owns the publisher, released its revenues for the first half of 2011 earlier this week. Random House revenues hit €787 million, down slightly from the company’s revenues in 2010 for the same period which hit €791 million. However, the earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) was €69 million, up from €40 million. The publisher attributed this favorable EBIT to strong U.S. performance.

According to Random House, overall gains were driven by bestsellers, and eBook sales across all territories. In the U.S., digital sales accounted for more than 20 percent of all revenues. At the reporting date, Random House imprints had more than 27,000 eBooks available worldwide.

Lagardère Publishing, the company that owns the Hachette Book Group, reported its first half of 2011 sales figures yesterday, and revealed that eBook sales now represent 5% of total net sales throughout the company.

The company saw sharp growth in eBook sales in English-speaking countries during the first half of this year. In the US, eBooks accounted for 20% of net sales in the trade segment. In the UK, eBooks accounted for 8% of net sales in the trade segment. Both countries doubled their eBook net sales figures from last year.

Lagardère Publishing reported €900 million in revenues in the first half of 2011, down 6% on a like-for-like basis from 2010. The company attributed these figures to “expected decline in sales of the last book in the Stephenie Meyer series, significant progress in eBooks in English-speaking countries and solid performances in France by the General Literature and Education segments.”

eBook publisher RosettaBooks has a new Kindle Single coming out next week about WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange called Assange Agonistes.

Written by British investigative reporter Heather Brooke, who met Assange while researching a book on the digital revolution, the piece is about her personal experience working with controversial figure. Here is more from the press release: “At first ‘full of admiration for this warrior for freedom of information,’ Heather Brooke became curious, finding him ‘unsettlingly, even bafflingly, unaware of any notion of personal boundaries,’ and then increasingly alarmed by Julian Assange’s behavior.”

The release marks the publisher’s fourth Kindle Single release. A Kindle Single is a short form digital book that is typically between 10,000 and 30,000 words –or about 30-90 pages– and is priced less than a typical eBook.

NewsCorps released its fiscal 2011 numbers late yesterday afternoon. While the company did not break out income for book publishing specifically, the company did report that its publishing division (which includes newspapers), had a full year segment operating income of $864 million. This is a huge growth compared to the $467 million reported a year ago.  (The current year and prior year results include litigation settlement charges of $125 million and $500 million, respectively).

eBooks and children’s books helped HarperCollins have a profitable fourth quarter.

Publishers Weekly has more: “Harper said in a brief statement that it ‘ended the year with a profitable quarter and exceeded its plan for the year.’ They say the children’s division enjoyed ‘its second best ever’ year. eBook sales were ‘approximately 12 percent of sales in the US’ for the full fiscal year. Last quarter, for that period alone, Harper said ebooks comprised 19 percent of US sales and 11 percent of worldwide sales.”

How do you turn a print book into an interactive eBook?  For Melville House, it’s called a “HybridBook,” and it’s built on the back of a print book. According to the publisher’s website, “The HybridBook project is an innovative publishing program that takes the concept of the enhanced ebook and imposes it on print media.”

The idea is that users can readers can use their phones to scan QR codes on the back of a print book to access additional material, what Melville House calls “illuminations.” The Illuminations consist of “highly curated text, maps, photographs and illustrations related to the original book.” These additional features are free and automatically come in the eBooks editions of the works.

The publisher is testing out this new format with works by five different classic authors including Joseph Conrad and Anton Chekhov.

Via The New York Observer.

Penguin’s eBook global sales grew 128 percent over the last year, and eBooks now represent 14 percent of the company’s total revenue. Titles like Kathryn Stockett’s The Help, Tom Clancy’s Against All Enemies and Joshua Foer’s Moonwalking with Einstein are among Penguin’s bestselling eBooks.

Penguin’s parent company Pearson released these sales figures in its 2011-half year results report. According to the report, Penguin’s overall sales dropped by 4%. However, as a whole, Pearson saw sales up  6% to £2.4 billion with profits up 20% to £208 million.

Education sales were up 9% with profits up 31%. International  sales were up 26% in this category and Professional sales were up 35% for education, which helped drive the growth. Digital sales helped as well, as Pearson’s education digital platform and service registrations were 15%.

HarperCollins Children’s Books is opening up digital storefronts for its I Can Read children’s reading book series in both the iBookstore and in the Nook Bookstore. The collection will have its own boutique in each of these digital bookstores.

The eBook series includes more than eighty titles of learn-to-read books such as Biscuit; Frog and Toad are Friends; and The Berenstain Bear’s Class Trip. The eBook versions of the books include additional elements such as a read-along track and sound effects that are synced to a word or page.

The eBooks are priced at $4.99 in each of the digital storefronts and both stores also feature a free digital copy of Dixie by Grace Gillman, a Level 1 book from the series.

The Hachette Book Group has created a new online tool that helps individuals with physical disabilities navigate their site, the first trade publisher to do so.

Through a partnership with a company called eSSENTIAL Accessibility, which makes assistive software, HBG’s website is now optimized for people who have difficulty typing, moving a mouse or reading a Web page. The technology includes various keyboard and mouse replacement options. Users can access this special experience by clicking on a special icon.

It is catered to individuals with a variety of conditions including: stroke, paralysis, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy and Parkinson’s disease. It is also designed for people who have difficulty reading because of literacy deficiencies, limited English proficiency, dyslexia or mild visual impairment.

This effort is part of a Disability Community Involvement initiative sponsored by various advocacy organizations for the disabled including The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation.