The number of parties has dwindled and there are fewer blockbuster celebrity authors, but the actual business of book publishing looks a little brighter this year.
Book Expo America, which kicks off at the Javits Convention Center today, is designed to bring independent booksellers together so that publishers can hype books they think will be big sellers in the coming months.
Yesterday, the Alfred A. Knopf imprint announced “Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy,” the third book in British writer Helen Fielding’s mega-selling series about the travails of a single woman. The first two books became international sensations in the 1990s, selling more than 15 million copies worldwide. This time around it will have a 250,000-copy first printing.
Doubleday is planning to publish John Grisham’s “Sycamore Row” in October. It’s a sequel to “A Time to Kill,” the novel that put him on the map nearly three decades ago. With an anticipated first printing of 1 million copies, it is expected to be one of the bigger books of the fall.
The New Yorker, once a fixture on the party circuit, has once again opted out of throwing a BEA-connected bash. But People is taking up some of the slack, expecting about 200 people to show up at its third annual party.
Invited guests include: “The Help” actress Octavia Spencer, as well as authors Jennifer Weiner, Elizabeth Gilbert, Scott Turow, Erica Jong, Carole Radziwill, Elizabeth Strout and Wally Lamb.
“We throw parties in Washington and Hollywood, why shouldn’t we throw one for publishing?” said People Managing Editor Larry Hackett, who will be hosting the bash at the Ink 48 Hotel tomorrow evening.
Penguin is largely staying out of the party circuit except for one Friday soiree for its young-adult imprint. But it is introducing the Penguin book truck, bringing authors such as Patricia Cornwell and Elizabeth Gilbert on tour. Penguin said the idea was inspired by New York hot dog carts and aims to have it hit parks, beaches, bookstores and shopping districts over the summer.
Random House downsized its space on the convention floor several years ago but still seems to be putting a lot of muscle behind events celebrating its authors. Its four major groups are hosting parties, including Knopf’s at Cognac on upper Broadway.
Simon & Schuster is still big on the convention floor, where it hopes to build enthusiasm for “The Bully Pulpit,” by Doris Kearns Goodwin, and “The Rosie Project” by Graeme Simsion.
They are also hoping lightning strikes twice with the novel “Bellman and Black” by Diane Setterfield, whose earlier novel “The Thirteenth Tale” caught fire at Book Expo in 2006 and went on to become a best-seller.
Another reason for more optimism: The antitrust cloud that has been hanging over the industry for years as the Justice Department investigated possible price collusion on e-books has largely lifted.
Last week, Penguin reached a deal with 33 state attorneys general to pay $75 million to compensate consumers of e-books — one of the largest settlements of any publisher caught up in the case.
Penguin, as part of the deal, made no admission of wrongdoing.
Previously, Simon & Schuster, Hachette Books, Macmillan and HarperCollins, which News Corp. owns along with The Post, all agreed to settle their cases separately. Publishers Weekly reported that Hachette agreed to pay $32 million, HarperCollins $20 million, Simon & Schuster $18 million, and Macmillan $20 million.
Penguin had great incentive to settle because it is in process of completing a merger with Random House, which is on target to close later this year.
In general, the book world appears healthier than it has been in several years.
Overall net revenue from trade publishing — the name used to describe books aimed at a consumer audience — increased 6.9 percent to $15 billion in 2012, according to Bookstats.
Bookstats, co-produced by the Association of American Publishers and the Book Industry Study Group. reflects publishers’ revenue from the sales channels, not actual sales at the retail level.
The study also found that e-books now constitute 20 percent of the consumer book market, jumping to $3 billion in revenue last year, from $2.1 billion in 2011.
Chop shop
IAC boss Barry Diller, who shut down the print edition of Newsweek at the end of last year, is now trying to sell off the remnants of the digital-only publication, according to a report.
The media mogul is “sending out inquiries to prospective buyers who may be interested in purchasing the 80-year-old title,” according to the report, in Variety.
In his latest public utterances, Diller told Bloomberg TV that buying Newsweek was a “mistake” and that he did not have great expectations for it going forward.
Newsweek and IAC could not be reached for comment at presstime, but putting it on the block would likely be the death knell for the magazine.
Time magazine already is believed to have cherry-picked about 120,000 names off the Newsweek subscriber list when Diller announced it was going all-digital.