BTW News Briefs

Nebraska Book Co. Files for Bankruptcy Protection

In a plan supported by noteholders, Nebraska Book Co. filed for bankruptcy protection to restructure about $450 million in debt, according to Bloomberg News.

The operator of approximately 280 college bookstores nationwide is based in Lincoln, Nebraska. The company filed for protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware.

Nebraska Book Co. President Barry Major said in a statement that the company was “clearing a path toward continued growth” and would conduct business as usual.

Bloomberg News reported that Nebraska Book Co. “has one of the largest wholesale distribution networks of used textbooks, supplying college bookstores with more than 105,000 different book titles and selling more than 6.3 million books a year.”

BEA Names First Industry Ambassador Award Recipient

BookExpo America’s new annual Industry Ambassador Award, recognizing an individual for achievement in connecting people, concepts, and organizations, has been awarded to Steve Potash, president and CEO of OverDrive, Inc.

Steve Rosato, BEA’s show manager, said that Potash “uses his platform in the industry to advance the interests of publishing as a whole. We seek to honor a person who is a true ambassador for the industry, and Steve is the perfect person to be the measuring stick to initiate this award that we expect to grow in stature and prominence in the future.”

Acknowledging that the publishing and bookselling industries have changed dramatically over the past few years, Potash said, “BEA and its associated activities have been a strong reason why I enjoy hundreds of long-standing relationships with leaders in this industry.  BEA does a great service to all by consistently bringing stakeholders for the book community to New York each spring.”

OverDrive distributes more than 600,000 copyrighted digital book titles and provides managed e-book and digital audiobook services for 15,000-plus schools, libraries, and institutions.

New Rules Project Says Publishers, Not Amazon, Should Set Book Prices

In the June 23 edition of the Hometown Advantage newsletter, Stacy Mitchell, senior researcher with the New Rules Project and author of Big-Box Swindle, makes a case for why publishers, not Amazon, should set book prices.

With agency plans putting publishers in control of e-book pricing, Mitchell said, “the market has become far more diverse and competitive.” And, she added, “More retailers means more opportunities for publishers to distribute a much wider variety of books and ensures that even niche books can find one way or another to reach their audience.”

Mitchell’s piece also looks at the track record for legislating book prices in Europe and at the possibility of publishers’ extending agency pricing models to print books in the U.S.