Barnes&Noble.com
has relaunched its website, which, the company said, has "a host of
site enhancements, including integrated browse and search functions,
and significant new additions to content and community features.
Utilizing the latest web technologies, the new site enables more,
better and faster browsing."
Among new features:
- The Barnes & Noble Review, an online literary magazine whose editor-in-chief is James Mustich. The first issue includes a review of Philip Roth's Exit Ghost by John Freeman, president of the National Book Critics Circle.
- One on One podcasts hosted by former NPR reporter and Air America co-host Katherine Lanpher and featuring interviews with writers, musicians and filmmakers.
- Live at B&N, which will transmit events held at B&N stores.
"The new site makes it even faster and easier for our customers to
find exactly what they are looking for, yet have the experience of
browsing that makes visiting bookstores so pleasurable," CEO Marie
Toulantis said in a statement. "We are also introducing many new
interactive content and community features that our customers expect
from a world-class multi-channel retailer."
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The planned partnership between the big German bookstore
chain Thalia, owned by Douglas Holding, and the book departments in
Karstadt's 89 department stores has collapsed, according to Thomson Financial.
Thalia would have acquired the book departments in Karstadt effective
February 1. The stumbling block apparently was "a difference in opinion
surrounding the structuring of the future cooperation."
Douglas said that Thalia will continue to expand "under its own steam.
This expansion strategy will entail both organic growth generated by
opening its own new locations and acquiring well-established local and
regional bookstores."
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Joining the ranks of publishers with formal deals to
produce films, HarperCollins Publishers has begun "a strategic
partnership" with Sharp Independent, the New York City independent film
production company, to collaborate on the development and production of
movies based on HarperCollins titles.
Called Sharp Independent at HarperCollins, it will work with authors
and their agents to acquire the film rights for books from future,
current and existing backlist adult titles. The new entity will have
offices at HarperCollins headquarters. Michael Morrison, president and
group publisher of Harper/Morrow, will oversee the venture for
HarperCollins.
Jeff Sharp, president and CEO of Sharp Independent, has produced films that were adapted from books, including Nicholas Nickleby, adapted from the novel by Charles Dickens, A Home at the End of the World, adapted by Michael Cunningham from his novel; The Night Listener, adapted by Armistead Maupin from his novel; and Evening, adapted from Susan Minot's novel by Michael Cunningham and Susan Minot.
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In an echo of recent insider buying at Barnes &
Noble, Borders Group CEO George Jones has bought 50,000 shares of the
company stock, apparently his first purchase of Broders stock since
joining the company in July 2006, according to Reuters.
Jones bought the shares last Friday for between $13.33 to $13.45 each (or somewhat over $666,000 altogether),
just after the company's shares hit their lowest point in almost seven
years. He now owns slightly more than 121,000 shares.
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Steve Rotterdam has joined DC
Comics as senior v-p, sales and marketing, and will run both the
direct sales and the book trade sales divisions of the company,
supervise the marketing and publicity efforts of DC Comics' publishing
and oversee the advertising sales and custom publishing department. He
was formerly chief creative officer of Eastwest Marketing Group.
DC Comics is increasing sales to bookstores, and as of next spring it will distributed to the book trade by Random House.