Publishing News
General News
March 16-31, 2004 Edition GENERAL NEWS Barnes & Noble
to Offer In-Store
Wireless Internet Services
NEW YORK, NY/03/09/04—Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS), the world’s largest bookseller and Cometa Networks, Inc., a leading Wi-Fi (802.11) wholesale network provider, announced today an exclusive agreement to offer wireless Internet services at Barnes & Noble stores all across the country.
“With access to Cometa’s convenient broadband wireless technology, Barnes & Noble customers will enjoy not only the benefits of the highest quality of service, but a choice of leading Wi-Fi service providers with a variety of pricing plans to fit their needs,” said Steve Riggio, chief executive officer of Barnes & Noble, Inc. “After careful consideration, we believe Cometa can deliver the finest Wi-Fi service available today.”
“Barnes & Noble is one of the premier retail brands in the United States, bringing millions of customers the best value in the retail bookselling industry,” said Gary Weis, chief executive officer of Cometa Networks, Inc. “We are pleased to contribute to their retail environment through our dependable, fast and always-on network broadband connectivity outside the home and office environments.”
Unlike other public Wi-Fi networks, where customers have only one choice of service provider, the Cometa Hotspot(sm) network at all Barnes & Noble stores will be open to multiple providers. Customers can choose which provider they want. The wholesale Cometa Hotspot(sm) network currently supports service providers with pricing plans as low as $11.95 per month for unlimited usage.
The companies expect Wi-Fi deployment to be completed by September 2004.
The Barnes & Noble deployment marks Cometa Network’s initiation of its national rollout plans. In addition to Barnes & Noble, Cometa Networks offers Wi-Fi services at a rich and diverse array of urban locations, including coffee houses, restaurants, shopping centers, as well as office buildings, golf and country clubs and college locations. Barnes & Noble customers will not only be able to access wireless broadband Internet service in their favorite Barnes & Noble bookstores, but in these other locations as well.
About Barnes& Noble, Inc.
Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS) is the world’s largest bookseller, operating 647 Barnes & Noble stores in 49 states. It also operates 195 B. Dalton Bookseller stores, primarily in regional shopping malls. The company offers titles from more than 50,000 publisher imprints, including thousands of small, independent publishers and university presses. It conducts its e-commerce business through Barnes & Noble.com (NASDAQ:BNBN) ( http://www.bn.com).
Barnes & Noble also has approximately a 65% interest in GameStop (NYSE:GME), the nation’s largest video game and entertainment software specialty retailer with 1,514 stores.
General financial information on Barnes & Noble, Inc. can be obtained via the Internet by visiting the company’s corporate Web site: http://www.barnesandnobleinc.com/financials.
About Cometa Networks
Based in Schaumburg, Ill., Cometa Networks deploys and operates public Wi-Fi (802.11) wireless broadband Internet access sites in collaboration with national and regional retail partners. The Cometa Hotspot(sm) network is offered wholesale to telecommunications companies, Internet service providers, cable operators and wireless carriers. Cometa has created a rich, community-based network of locations including Barnes & Noble Bookstores, McDonalds Restaurants, Tully’s Coffee Shops, shopping centers, college campuses, golf courses, and more. The company is committed to offering leading industry value for its service. Cometa was formed by technology leaders AT&T, Intel and IBM and global investment concerns Apax Partners and 3i. For more information about Cometa Networks, or for a list of the ever-expanding Cometa Wi-Fi Hotspot Network locations, visit Cometa at www.cometahotspot.com.
Heinlein’s
First Novel
Rediscovered
NEW YORK, NY/03/10/04—According to The New York Times, the first unpublished novel of Robert A. Heinlein has been rediscovered and published. The author apparently shelved For Us, the Living in 1939 after two publishers rejected it and later discarded the original manuscript.
Ranked among great authors of his day including Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clark, he wrote and published Stranger in a Strange Land and many other books in the Science Fiction genre.
A copy of his first unpublished novel, lost for more than 60 years, was found in a garage in Seattle, and has now been released by Scribner. It was likely not published in his lifetime because it included dangerous ideas such as sexual free love, according to The Times.
The novel is valued for its prophecies and for the light it sheds on Heinlein’s other books. He refused to publish the novel later in his career because he used it as a source for ideas and events that appeared in his subsequent work.
Heinlein scholar Robert James said he believes Heinlein was writing commercial fiction from early in his career. He wrote about what society should be about, said James, and tried to form a cultural response to his community in much the same way as Mark Twain and others did.
The novel portrays Perry Nelson, an ordinary man who apparently dies in an automobile accident in 1938 but is magically transported to 2086.
Mr. James came across a mention of the novel while doing research on Heinlein and visited Michael Hunter, who had worked as a research assistant on a biography of Heinlein that was later abandoned.
The Times article said: “Mr. Hunter, who lives in Seattle, had forgotten he possessed a copy and found it in his garage. After Heinlein’s wife, Virginia, died in January 2003, Mr. James passed the book on to the Heinlein Society, a nonprofit organization devoted to the author’s work. It was published in January by Scribner, with profits going to Heinlein’s favorite cause, advancing the exploration of space.”
Knight Ridder Names
Pamela J. Browning
Publisher of CollegeDaily
SAN JOSE, CA/03/08/04—Knight Ridder has named Pamela J. Browning as president and publisher of the (State College,Pa.) Centre Daily Times effective March 15. She succeeds Henry Haitz III, who is now publisher of the Bradenton (Fla.) Herald.
Knight Ridder Vice President/Operations Mac Tully said, “I’m absolutely delighted that Pamela will be joining Knight Ridder as publisher of the Centre Daily Times. Pamela most recently was publisher of The Sentinel in Carlisle, and has 20 years of daily newspaper advertising experience. Her experience spans both large and small daily newspapers and she has a long track record of success at each of those operations. Pamela has accumulated a work history of exceeding expectations. She is an excellent addition to Knight Ridder.”
Browning, 39, has been publisher of The Sentinel since 2002. Prior to that, she was advertising director of the Asheville (N.C.) Citizen-Times from 1999 to 2002; retail advertising director of the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Press from 1998 to 1999; advertising director of the (Collins, Colo.) Coloradoan from 1996 to 1998; and held a variety of advertising positions at the (Springfield, Mo.) News-Leader from 1984 to 1996. She earned a bachelor of science degree from Southwest Missouri State University in 1987.
Browning is a member of the Rotary Club and serves on the board of directors of the Carlisle Area Chamber of Commerce, Carlisle Regional Medical Center and OIC Learning Center Carlisle. She is a member of the Newspaper Association of America Advertising Federation. She is married to Kerry Browning and has three children, Casey 16, Kylie 15 and Cody 13.
Knight Ridder (NYSE: KRI) is the nation’s second-largest newspaper publisher, with products in print and online. The company publishes 31 daily newspapers in 28 U.S. markets, with a readership of 8.7 million daily and 12.6 million Sunday. Knight Ridder also has investments in a variety of Internet and technology companies and two newsprint companies. The company’s Internet operation, Knight Ridder Digital, develops and manages the company’s online properties. It is the founder and operator of Real Cities ( http://www.RealCities.com), the largest national network of city and regional Web sites in more than 100 U.S. markets. Knight Ridder and Knight Ridder Digital are headquartered in San Jose, Calif.
Heinlein’s
First Novel
Rediscovered
NEW YORK, NY/03/10/04—According to The New York Times, the first unpublished novel of Robert A. Heinlein has been rediscovered and published. The author apparently shelved For Us, the Living in 1939 after two publishers rejected it and later discarded the original manuscript.
Ranked among great authors of his day including Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clark, he wrote and published Stranger in a Strange Land and many other books in the Science Fiction genre.
A copy of his first unpublished novel, lost for more than 60 years, was found in a garage in Seattle, and has now been released by Scribner. It was likely not published in his lifetime because it included dangerous ideas such as sexual free love, according to The Times.
The novel is valued for its prophecies and for the light it sheds on Heinlein’s other books. He refused to publish the novel later in his career because he used it as a source for ideas and events that appeared in his subsequent work.
Heinlein scholar Robert James said he believes Heinlein was writing commercial fiction from early in his career. He wrote about what society should be about, said James, and tried to form a cultural response to his community in much the same way as Mark Twain and others did.
The novel portrays Perry Nelson, an ordinary man who apparently dies in an automobile accident in 1938 but is magically transported to 2086.
Mr. James came across a mention of the novel while doing research on Heinlein and visited Michael Hunter, who had worked as a research assistant on a biography of Heinlein that was later abandoned.
The Times article said: “Mr. Hunter, who lives in Seattle, had forgotten he possessed a copy and found it in his garage. After Heinlein’s wife, Virginia, died in January 2003, Mr. James passed the book on to the Heinlein Society, a nonprofit organization devoted to the author’s work. It was published in January by Scribner, with profits going to Heinlein’s favorite cause, advancing the exploration of space.”
Swink Magazine
Debuts in New York
and Los Angeles
NEW YORK, NY/03/08/04—Swink, a new bi-coastal, biannual print magazine dedicated to identifying and promoting established and emerging literary talent, made its debut today. Swink’s editor, Leelila Strogov, said, “Swink publishes writing that pushes the boundaries of the traditional—we’re looking for work that is new in concept, form or execution, and that reflects a diversity of thought and perspective.” Selections from the premiere issue of the magazine can be found online at www.swinkmag.com.
Swink, which means to labor or toil, publishes fiction, non-fiction, poetry and interviews, and will sponsor frequent readings and events in New York City and Los Angeles. The magazine also includes “Peregrinations,” essays on travel or journeys; “Takes One to Know One,” in which one writer with a given vocation or avocation writes about someone who shares his or her line of work, play, or habit; and “Damaged Darlings,” a collaborative writing platform in which one author hands over an abandoned work-in-progress for another to complete. A “Debut” section showcases writers who appear in print for the first time.
The premiere issue of Swink includes fiction by self-proclaimed “Greatest American Living Writer,” Neal Pollock; lovable pervert, Jonathan Ames; and Elissa Schappell, author of Use Me, co-founder and editor-at-large of Tin House magazine, and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. Poets Bob Hicok, Lucia Perillo, Beckian Fritz Goldberg, Terrance Hayes, and D. Nurkse contribute their words to the first issue of the magazine in which an interview with Adam Haslett, author of the critically acclaimed You Are Not a Stranger Here, is also featured. For “Takes One to Know One,” Charles D’Ambrosio writes about author Richard Brautigan and David L. Ulin writes about literary one-hit wonder, Frederick Exley. Geoff Dyer and Rachel Resnick have travel essays featured in “Peregrinations;” and Amy Bloom and Chris Offutt are among those with collaborative fiction in “Damaged Darlings.”
Michael Chabon, Jonathan Lethem, and Chris Offutt will be contributing comics they drew as children for Swink’s upcoming issue featuring a section on the role comic books have played in many authors’ lives.
The magazine will be available in bookstores for $10, and by subscription at $16 for one year and $28 for two. Subscriptions can be ordered online at www.swinkmag.com/subscriptions.html. Swink’s theme issues of fiction, essays, and poetry will be available exclusively online at www.swinkmag.com.
Contributing writers will read from their work as the magazine celebrates its New York City launch on Wednesday, April 7 at 8 p.m. at Pianos, 148 Ludlow Street at Stanton, and in Los Angeles on Saturday, April 17 at 8 p.m. at a private residence at 1644 Elevado Street in Silverlake.
