Savvas Introduces Experience Science for Grades K-8, an All-New Phenomena-Driven Program

On the closing day of the American Booksellers Association Winter Institute 2023, a keynote and idea exchange tackled book banning and other threats to the freedom to read. Stories of outrage were easy to come by: booksellers report going uninvited to book fairs, moving children’s books off tables occupied by general “adult” titles, or second-guessing whether to host Drag Queen Story Time. But solutions were in shorter supply. Booksellers are frustrated with schools’ and libraries’ capitulations to uninformed book challenges, despite understanding the fears of harassment and violence driving those chilling decisions. ABA chief communications officer Ray Daniels moderated a panel that included Gender Queer author Maia Kobabe, Rediscovered Books co-owner Laura DeLaney, Green Feather Book Company proprietor Heather Hall, and Kendrick Washington, director of policy at the ACLU of Washington. “I have had a wild ride over the past couple of years,” said Kobabe, whose memoir tops the American Library Association’s list of 10 most-challenged books. “I have seen a rise of book sales, but I think most of those sales are to adults and people who listen to NPR. People in book deserts are the ones missing out. We shouldn’t have to have a lawsuit in every single school district just to have the books in schools and libraries. It’s such a drain on resources.”

The detail that has most captured industry members’ attention in the New York Times report that HarperCollins and Penguin Random House are the favorites to acquire Simon & Schuster is the news that the purchase price is expected to be at least $1.7 billion. That figure is at the top end of original estimates of $1.2 billion–$1.7 billion for the price of the country’s third-largest trade publisher. The sale of S&S will be the largest acquisition in North American trade publishing since HarperCollins bought Harlequin in 2014. It will also be one of the few recent transactions in which the revenue of the target company is public and the purchase price may also become public.

Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2023 Financial Highlights: *Adobe achieved revenue of $4.82 billion in its second quarter of fiscal year 2023, which represents 10 percent year-over-year growth or 13 percent in constant currency. Diluted earnings per share was $2.82 on a GAAP basis and $3.91 on a non-GAAP basis. *GAAP operating income in the second quarter was $1.62 billion and non-GAAP operating income was $2.18 billion. GAAP net income was $1.30 billion and non-GAAP net income was $1.79 billion. *Cash flows from operations were $2.14 billion. *Remaining Performance Obligations (“RPO”) exiting the quarter were $15.22 billion. *Adobe repurchased approximately 2.7 million shares during the quarter.