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AUTHORLINK NEWS ARCHIVES

Random House

Launches New

Paperback Series

NEW YORK, NY 1/12 /98-- Random House, Inc., has launched a new trade paperback series of nonfiction books. The series will be published by The Ballantine Publishing Group under the imprint,. "The Library of Contemporary Thought." Linda Grey, President of The Ballantine Group and Random House Chairman and CEO Alberto Vitale, made the announcement.

According to Ms. Grey, the new imprint is designed to attract noted authors, artists, scientists, economists, and other public leaders "to whom readers will wish to turn when an event or trend merits deeper discussion and thought."

Peter Gethers, Vice President and Editor-at-Large for Random House, Inc., will edit the series. Gethers said the imprint will provide a forum where trusted and respected voices can examine issues -- social, political, moral, and personal -- in a thoughtful manner.

One new title in the series will be issued on the third Tuesday of every month. Launching the line on Tuesday, March 17, 1998 will be John Feinstein's THE FIRST COMING: Tiger Woods, Master or Martyr?, followed on Tuesday, April 21, by Vincent Bugliosi's NO ISLAND OF SANITY: Paula Jones vs. Bill Clinton, The Supreme Court on Trial.

The trade paperbacks will be issued on a monthly basis, and will have a length of about 96 pages. A first printing of about 75,000 copies is planned for each title. Retail price will range from $7.95 to $9.95.

Disney Combines

Kids' Imprints

Into New Group

1/98--Disney has formed the new Disney Children's Book Group, under the direction of Lisa Holton, vice president and publisher. The new group was created by merging three existing Disney imprints--Disney Press, Mouse Works and Hyperion Books for Children.

NY Sues Edit Ink

For Bilking

Numerous Writers

NEW YORK, NY 1/14/98--A civil law suit has been filed by New York Assistant Attorney General Dennis Rosen against Edit Ink, a fake editorial service with ties to a number of bogus literary agencies and publishing companies.

Edit Ink owners William Appel and Denise Steers, under investigation for about a year, are charged with false advertising, deceptive business practices, and fraudulent or illegal conduct. Others named in the suit are Ardvark Literary Agency, operated by Kelley Culmer; Charles Neighbors, and Eduardo Gahona. Gahona allegedly operated a phony publishing house, which referred writers to Edit Ink. Both Edit Ink and Ardvark are located in the New York/ Buffalo area. Neighbors, who operated Ardvark, has left New York for California. Culmer, who started working for Edit Ink, later represented herself as Crescent Books, Silver Branch Literary Agency and now has taken over Ardvark, according to Mr. Rossen.

Until the case is tried, a temporary restraining order prohibits Edit Ink from entering into a contract with an author to edit a manuscript unless that contract is made conspicuously and in writing.

Edit Ink ran a $5-per-page editorial service, but reportedly never read the manuscripts. It also offered to refer "only the best" writers to Ardvark and other literary agencies, but sent the same referral form letter to every writer. Edit Ink is said to have raked in more than $5 million from unsuspecting clients.

Assistant Attorney General Rosen, in charge of the investigation, said he encourages anyone with information about either organization to contact him, preferably by mail at: The Attorney General's Office, 107 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14202 (716) 853-8417; fax (716) 853-8414. He said restitution may still be possible for some of the writers who were burned.

Primedia To Buy

Cowles Magazines

For $ 200 Million

NEW YORK, NY 1/9/98-- PRIMEDIA Inc.(NYSE: PRM) has agreed to acquire Cowles Enthusiast Media and Cowles Business Media, divisions of Cowles Media Company (CMC), from McClatchy Newspapers. The purchase price will be about $200 million.

William F. Reilly, Chairman and CEO of PRIMEDIA Inc. and Gary Pruitt, President and CEO of McClatchy Newspapers, (NYSE: MNI) announced the forthcoming sale, which is expected to close by March 31, 1998.

Titles to be acquired by PRIMEDIA include Fly Fisherman, Vegetarian Times, Civil War Times, American Demographics, Folio:, Promo, Cable World, Direct and SIMBA newsletters.

Cowles Enthusiast Media and Cowles Business Media were acquired in 1997 as part of McClatchy's 1997 purchase of Cowles Media Company for $1.4 million Cowles' principle asset is the Star Tribune newspaper serving the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Sale of the two Cowles divisions carries out McClatchy's plan to sell all Cowles' non-newspaper assets.

The Cowles acquisitions enhance PRIMEDIA's position as the largest special interest consumer magazine publisher in the US, and the company's leadership in technical and trade magazines.

The purchase includes 25 enthusiast titles, 11 technical and trade magazines, and 15 trade shows. With Cowles, PRIMEDIA will publish a total of 168 magazines and produce 29 trade shows.

The Cowles Enthusiast Media Division will be a freestanding unit of PRIMEDIA's Specialty Magazines Group, and the Business Media Division will become a unit of Intertec, the company's trade and technical magazine group.

Times Mirror

Acquires Three

Bike Magazines

NEW YORK, NY 1/12/98-- Times Mirror Magazines, the nation's leading publisher of men's leisure-oriented, special-interest magazines, has acquired Ride BMX, SNAP, and BMX Business News, published by Ride Publishing.

All three magazines will be added to the TransWorld Media group, a division of Times Mirror Magazines that focuses on youth-oriented titles. Brian Sellstrom is President of TransWorld Media and The Skiing Company.

Ride BMX, in publication for more than 5 years, is the market leader in advertising pages in its category of freestyle BMX magazines. SNAP, which covers the racing side of the BMX sport, is also the market leader in its category in terms of advertising pages. BMX Business News is widely distributed in bike shops across the country and has a circulation of approximately 9,000.

Times Mirror Magazines' TransWorld Media group currently consists of six titles, in addition to the RIDE titles. These include Snowboard Life, the magazine for freestyle (non-extreme) snowboarders; TransWorld SKATEboarding, the world's #1 skateboarding magazine; TransWorld SNOWboarding, the world's #1 snowboarding magazine; TransWorld Skateboarding Business, TransWorld Snowboarding Business, and Warp, a youth title covering skateboarding, snowsports, surfing, style, and music.

Times Mirror Magazines is the world's leading publisher of men's special-interest, leisure-oriented magazines.

Dorling Kindersley

Downsizes Staff

In CD-ROM Unit

Dorling Kindersley (DK), an earlier producer of CD-ROM titles, will cut its 160-member multimedia division in half by mid-year 1998. Some 80 full-time employees and 30 freelancers will be released.

Dwindling profit margins and high production costs are blamed for the decision. DK plans to eliminate production of its encyclopedias, shift its focus to more educational titles and outsource production.

Developer.com,

Macmillan Open

Online Library

NEW YORK, NY/1/7/98--What may be the world's largest searchable computer book library is now open on the Internet. Developer.com Reference Library offers users free access to individual chapters and complete text from more than 1,000 titles published by Macmillan Computer Publishing USA.

The huge reference library is made possible through a licensing agreement between Developer.com and Macmillan, allowing Developer.com to house the reference publishing giant's developer-related computer books.

Users search the library by title, author and subject. The advertiser supported Reference Library features hundreds of thousands of pages of information on topics ranging from basic HTML to complex Java scripting. For those users who still enjoy the tactile quality of books, Developer.com will also have hard copies of each book available for sale at the site's electronic commerce area, Developer Direct (http://www.developerdirect.com ).

Developer.com is the leading on-line resource by and for Net developers. Developer.com features extensive technology resources, daily news and analysis on a number of tools including ActiveX, JavaScript, VRML, Push technologies and JavaBeans. With its original content, commerce capabilities and forums, Developer.com is an indispensable community-driven service for developers worldwide.

Macmillan Publishing USA is the reference division of Simon & Schuster, the publishing operation of Viacom Inc. As the world's largest computer book publisher, Macmillan's computer book division is the industry's premier information and reference innovator. Macmillan Computer Publishing's imprints include: 00QUE, Sams Publishing, Sams.net, New Riders, Ziff-Davis Press, Hayden Books, Waite Group Press, Macmillan Technical Publishing, Que Education & Training, Lycos Press, Adobe Press, Borland Press, Cisco Press, EarthWeb Press and Red Hat Press. With more than 650 computer titles published annually, MCP is the only publisher producing materials on all major computing and communications topic. Macmillan Publishing USA's three operating units are Macmillan Reference USA, Macmillan Digital Publishing USA and Macmillan Computer Publishing USA.

John Wiley & Sons

To Theft-Proof

CD Programs

ROCHESTER, NY/ 1/12/98--John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (NYSE:JW.A and JW.B), soon will have a pirate-proof way to distribute CD-ROM- based multimedia products as companions to their leading Physics and Organic Chemistry textbooks.

Patented technology by SoftLock Services, Inc. not only will theft-proof Wiley's programs but also its instant digital ordering system.

Wiley will distribute the theft-proof multimedia CDs with every textbook it sells. Students will be able to try the product at no charge but will need to purchase a password to gain full access. When a student passes a copy on to a classmate the product will automatically revert to "Try-mode" and invite another purchase.

Founded in 1807, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., is an independent, global publishing company specializing in textbooks and educational materials for colleges and universities, in scientific and technical books and journals, as well as professional and consumer books and subscription services. Wiley has publishing, marketing, and distribution centers located in the US, Canada, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

Safelock Services, Inc. founded in 1992 and headquartered in Rochester, NY, is the premier provider of patented tools and services for information protection. SoftLock provides context-sensitive locking, unlocking and re-locking products to developers and publishers of digital goods of all kinds, such as software, documents, and multimedia presentations.

NewsWorks

Cuts Staff, Shifts Focus

to Email Delivery

1//98--New Century Networks (NCN) publisher of the online news digest, NewsWorks, has cut its 70-person staff by 10%.

Newsworks currently collects and condenses content from a network of traditional newspaper affiliates such as Cox Newspapers, Gannett, Hearst, Knight-Ridder, The New York Times and the Washington Post.

The reduction, effective January 7, will result in lighter weekend coverage and fewer new Web-based products. NewsWorks plans to reduce its web presence to curb news providers fears that the service has begun competing with them online. Instead, the service will shift its focus to delivering news via email, launching its first email issue February 1.

New Internet

Weekly Magazine

Sets April Launch

Key Staff Named

BOSTON, MASS/1/12/98--The Internet Industry Standard, a new weekly magazine, will publish its first issue in April, 1998. Published by International Data Group's Internet Industry Publishing Division, will be the first of its kind to focus upon the Internet economy.

Headquartered in Boston, IDG is a leading global provider of IT media, research, conferences and expositions. Annual revenues total $1.7 billion IDG publishes more than 285 computer newspapers and magazines and 500 book titles in 75 countries, led by the Computerworld, InfoWorld, Macworld, Network World, PC World and ...For Dummies global product lines. IDG also has more than 200 targeted Web sites in 52 countries.

Under the leadership of John Battelle, a co-founding editor of Wired Magazine and most

recently its deputy editor, The Internet Industry Standard will provide sophisticated news and analysis on a range of issues that affect how today's businesses operate in the new Internet economy.

Jonathan Weber, former technology editor for the Los Angeles Times, has been named editor in chief of The Internet Industry Standard.

Jeffrey Miller was named associate publisher, The Internet Industry Standard. An industry veteran, Mr. Miller has 16 years of publishing experience. He was founder and president of Miller Communications Group Ltd., and was formerly associate publisher of CMP's Windows Magazine and publisher of Softbank/Ziff's MacUser Magazine.

Cheryl Lucanegro will serve as vice president of sales and marketing. Ms. Lucanegro has more than 17 years of sales and marketing management experience including positions as vice president and associate publisher, Upside Magazine, and regional sales manager for Softbank/Ziff's Digital Review and PC Week publications.

Debra Aho Williamson will be an executive editor of the new weekly magazine.

She joins IIP from Advertising Age, where she most recently served as editor, interactive media and marketing.

Crown Plans

Large Return

of Books

The struggling Crown Books chain plans to return $25 million in inventory during the first quarter of 1998, following the Christmas selling season. The move hopefully will help the company improve inventory turns and cash flow. Crown has also postponed plans to expand its new superstores.

NY Library

To Sell Books

Via B&N

NEW YORK, NY/1/98--The New York Public Library (NYPL) which launched its new online bookstore this past November, will channel its online book sales through Barnes & Noble, earning a seven percent commission on sales. It is the first time a library has received revenue from book sales on the Internet, according to Publisher's Weekly.

The NYPL apparently is one of 40 charter members of B&N's online affiliates program.

People

On The Move

In Publishing

NY TIMES PROMOTES CHEBALO: Frank A. Chebalo has become vice president of operations and engineering of The New York Times Company Broadcast Group. He was promoted from his former post as director of engineering for the Broadcast Group. The New York Times Company Broadcast Group consists of eight network affiliated television stations and two radio stations. The New York Times Company is a diversified media company including newspapers, magazines, television and radio stations, as mentioned above, and electronic information and publishing.

CROWN NAMES PRESIDENT: Anna Currence has been named president and chief operating offer of Crown Books. She joined Crown January 12 after 17 years with Barnes & Noble and B. Dalton.

AUDIO BOOK CLUB GETS NEW CFO: Audio Book Club, Inc. (AMEX: KLB) has appointed John F. Levy as chief financial officer effective January 1, 1998. Levy is a Certified Public Accountant with 9 years experience with the national public accounting firms of Ernst & Young, Laventhol & Horwath and Grant Thorton, and has been involved extensively in investment and merchant banking. Audio Book Club, Inc. is a direct marketer of audio books through Audio Book Club, a membership club which markets and sells audio books by mail order and via the Internet.

PESCE HEADS WILEY & SONS: William Pesce will assume the role of president and chief executive officer at John Wiley & Sons, Inc. in May, 1998. He succeeds Charles Ellis.

B&N PICKS NEW EXECS: Jeff Killeen has been named chief operating officer of Barnesand Noble.com, the online subsidiary of Barnes & Noble, Inc. He will oversee the online operations and will report to Steve Riggio, vice chairman of Barnes & Noble, Inc. . . . Jill Yablon was named vice president of marketing at BarnesandNoble.com. Before joining B&N, Yablon served in interactive marketing and consulting for Greenhouse Networks, a division of AOL Studios. She'll direct marketing for both Barnes & Noble, Inc. and the online operations. . . Mary Ellen Keating has been named senior vice president of corporate communications and public affairs. She comes to B&N from her post as executive vice president and general manager of Hill and Knowlton Inc.

Hall Leaves

Delacort

For SMP

James W. Hall, author of the popular Delacorte thrillers featuring the character Thorn, has reportedly left Delacort and signed a three-book deal with SMP for $1.7 million. The new series, minus Thorn and the usual Florida setting, instead will center on a female police photographer with a troubled marriage and a mysterious past.

Hall's editor at SMP will be Jennifer Weis. The first book in the series is slated for release this fall.

Female Skipper

Makes Deal

With Hyperion

Female sea captain Linda Greenlaw has reportedly received a $150,000 advance from Hyperion executive editor Will Schwalbe. The book, to be released this spring, will focus on her journeys on the sea and will be written by her Ms. Greenlaw has been featured in the nonfiction bestseller, The Perfect Storm," and has received other recent publicity about her adventures. Stuart Krichevsky is her agent.

How Did They

Make The Sale?

Spotlight On:

Roland Jansen

First-time Author

Roland Jansen has just sold his first book to John Wiley & Sons as a direct result of having secured agent Elisabet McHugh through Authorlink!

Unnatural Profits from Natural Resources: How to Make Big Profits, Globally, From Oil, Gas, Grains and Metals will be released by John Wiley & Sons in August, 1998.

Dutch-born Jansen, director of fund management for the oldest bank in Liechtenstein, wrote the book in German in September 1996 and originally titled it, The Coming Squeeze in Natural Resources. A friend who review it told him his German was "hopeless" and suggested he write it in English. He did. In January, 1997 he began surfing the Internet to find information on publishers and came across Authorlink!

"I thought Authorlink! was a great idea for an aspiring writer living in a remote area and with no contacts in the publishing world. My book was accepted for listing on the service and after only two months, in March, 1997, Authorlink! Editor Doris Booth informed me that literary agent Elisabet McHugh was interested in reading the full manuscript. After receiving valuable backgorund information from Doris about the agent, I signed with Ms. McHugh on April 3."

In the following six months, Ms. McHugh encouraged Jansen to refocus the book and he completed the new version in August, 1997. Only a month later John Wiley & Sons made the offer to publish the book.

His advice to new writers: "Listen to the feedback you get from publishers who don't want to buy. Your work must be unique and you must be able to tell a publisher why it is so special. Finally, don't let anyone take away your dream of being published."

Reader's Digest

Declares Regular

Quarterly Dividend

PLEASANTVILLE, NY/1/9/98--The board of directors of The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. (NYSE:RDA,RDB) has declared a regular quarterly dividend of 22.5 cents per share on Class A nonvoting and Class B voting common stock, payable February 3, 1998 to stockholders of record January 22, 1998.

This is the 32nd consecutive quarterly dividend paid by Reader's Digest since the company's initial public offering in 1990.

The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. is a global publisher and direct marketer of products that inform, enrich, entertain and inspire people of all ages and cultures around the world. Worldwide revenues were $2.8 billion for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1997. Global headquarters is in Pleasantville, NY