Lunch for Tuesday, March 4

Signals From BN On "Recessionary Pressure"
Barnes & Noble stores reported preliminary results for fiscal 2007 after the close of the market yesterday and warned that "the company believes that recessionary pressures in this uncertain economic environment will make 2008 an especially challenging retail year." They added, "the company's post-holiday sales trends have continued into the first quarter of 2008 and the bookselling environment remains very competitive.... Given this environment, the company is focusing its efforts on managing its expenses and working capital with a realistic view of market conditions, as well as continuing to refine its marketing strategies and grow the Member program to maximize top line growth profitably."
 
Though they forsee a "slightly positive" increase in same-store sales -- even in comparison to the year that featured Harry Potter and The Secret -- the bookseller reduced its operating earnings predictions to "approximately flat," at a range of $1.70 to $1.90. Wall Street had expected earnings for the coming year of approximately $2.13 a share. The stock was driven down almost 10 percent last night. JP Morgan reduced their recommendation from "neutral" to "underperform," saying that the company's appraisal was "too optimistic." Given the economy and the upcoming presidential elections, analyst Charles Grom believes their forecast is "aggressive" and he's looking for a small same-store sales decline over the year.
 
In the report, the company tabulated fourth quarter sales down 0.5 percent on a same-store basis at $1.511 billion. Store sales for the full year of $4.648 billion were up 4.3 percent overall, with a same-store increase of 1.8 percent. BN.com registered $177 million for the quarter and $477 million for the year, up 13.4 percent from last year.
 
Have already reduced their earnings guidance for the quarter in early January, operating earnings are still expected to be in line with that revised estimate, though two property insurance and litigation settlements will add an extra $6.3 million after taxes.
Release

Riverhead Recalls Totally Fake Memoir
"In a sometimes tearful, often contrite telephone interview" the author
known as Margaret B. Jones (actually Margaret "Peggy" Seltzer) admitted to the NYT that her "memoir" LOVE AND CONSEQUENCES "was entirely fabricated." The book has been recalled by Riverhead, which printed approximately 19,000 copies.
 
Seltzer's lies were discovered after the NYT profiled the author in last week's Home section: "The reason I wanted to write the book is that all the time, people would say to me, you're not what I imagine someone from South L.A. would be like," she said. Her sister called the Times and revealed the truth -- including how they were raised in suburban Sherman Oaks.
 
Editor Sarah McGrath, who bought the book for Scribner and then moved it to Riverhead, tells the paper, "It's very upsetting to us because we spent so much time with this person and we felt such sympathy for her and she would talk about how she didn't have any money or any heat and we completely bought into that and thought we were doing something good by bringing her story to light," She added, "There's a huge personal betrayal here as well as a professional one."
 
McGrath also notes, "I've been talking to her on the phone and getting e-mails from her for three years and her story never has changed. All the details have been the same. There never have been any cracks."
 
McGrath "said that she had numerous conversations with Ms. Seltzer about being truthful. 'She seems to be very, very naïve,' Ms. McGrath said. 'There was a way to do this book honestly and have it be just as compelling.'"
 
Riverhead publisher Geoff Kloske adds that "We feel badly for readers, and also Peggy and her family." Noting that "we rely on our authors to tell us the truth," Kloske says "a huge amount of evidence was provided by the author in support of her story," including photographs, letters, and recommendations by such individuals as her writing professor. That supporting evidence also included Inga Muscio's 2005 book Autobiography of a Blue-Eyed Devil: My Life and Times in a Racist, Imperialist Society. Though Seltzer is not cited by name in the book, parts of her invented story appear to be told within the text  (and the author thanks "Peggy Seltzer, my platonic soulmate").
NYT

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Justice Never Sleeps: Law Firm Sues Regan Over Settlement Fee
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Personnel News
Folowing yesterday's announcement of Karen Rinaldi's departure from Bloomsbury USA for Rodale, Rodale officially confirmed her appointment as svp, general manager and publishing director of Rodale Books, effective April 1. She reports directly to Rodale CEO Steve Murphy. The company says "trade distribution and marketing will be part of Rinaldi’s group, and she will also collaborate with Rodale Direct EVP Gregg Michaelson, looking at innovative ways to make Rodale's titles available across all of the many platforms—trade, mail, online, international—at the company's disposal."
 
At Penguin Canada, Laura Shin has been hired as senior editor, commercial fiction. She has worked at Harlequin, as well as YTV and the SciFi Channel. Shin will report to executive editor Nicole Winstanley.
 
In the UK, David Shelley has been promoted to publisher of Little Brown UK's Sphere, while continuing to serve as joint publisher of Hachette Digital. Joanne Dickinson has been promoted to publisher of commercial women's fiction,
 
Amanda West has joined Thomas Nelson as marketing and publicity administrator for the corporate brands team.
 
And New York state has selected novelist Mary Gordon as state author and Jean Valentine as state poet.

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Manager of Sub Rights  [Full Time]
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Senior Acquisitions Editor - Multicultural Studies (Praeger)  [Full Time]
Greenwood Publishing Group (westport, CT)
   
Designer, Ad/Promo, Alfred A. Knopf  [Full Time]
Random House (New York, NY)
   
Journal Production Sales Representative  [Full Time]
BeaconPMG (Washington DC, DC)
   
Managing Editor  [Full Time]
Workman Publishing (New York, NY)

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