Amazon, Publishers Seek to Knock Out Refiled E-book Price-Fixing Suit (publishersweekly.com)

Popular Science continued to expand its considerable audience reach in June, with an average monthly audience growth of 38% and an increase in unique visitors to PopSci.com of 32% year over year for June. This milestone comes on the heels of Popular Science’s March/April “Water” issue’s star performance on newsstands at 38.3% year over year. The magazine brand’s total audience grew 31.5% year over year, and ranks third among the top ten magazine brands (source: MPA). “I’m extremely proud of the editorial team for all their hard work, which isn’t going unnoticed by Popular Science’s readers,” says Gregory Gatto, Senior Vice President, Managing Director, Bonnier Corporation. “The team has really concentrated on delivering print, digital and social products that are smart, timely, and unique.” Click Read More below for more of the story.

Amazon announced its choices for 2020’s Best Books of the Year So Far, selecting Abi Daré’s debut novel, The Girl with the Louding Voice, as the top pick. Throughout the year, the Amazon Books editorial team pores over thousands of pages to determine the Best Books of the Month, Best Books of the Year So Far, and Best Books of the Year, debating new releases across various categories—including literary fiction, mystery and thriller, biography, children’s books, and young adult—all to help customers find their next great book. For Best Books of the Year So Far, the Amazon Books editorial team read and selected titles released between January 2020 and June 2020. This year’s list includes the first adult novel of a longtime children’s book author, a sought-after tattoo artist’s memoir on assimilating to American culture after leaving Vietnam, and a gripping true story of a family trying to understand how schizophrenia has affected their lives and future.

Commenting on the results, Nigel Newton, Chief Executive, said: “Bloomsbury experienced excellent trading in the first half with year-on-year profit growth of 60% to £4.0 million. This has delivered our highest first half earnings since 2008 and exceeded the Board’s expectations. Online book sales and e-book revenues were significantly higher. The Consumer division had an excellent performance with 17% revenue growth and a £2.1 million increase in profit before tax and highlighted items to £2.7 million. Stand-out bestsellers during the period included Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People about Race, Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood, White Rage, Humankind and Such A Fun Age. In the Non-Consumer division, our strategy of developing online academic resources, conceived five years ago, meant we were well placed to benefit from the accelerated shift by academic institutions to digital products to support remote learning. We saw 47% growth in sales of Bloomsbury Digital Resources as a result.