Future book sales figures will likely fall further as Barnes & Noble also announced layoffs this week.
Catching up with PW's Andrew Albanese
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While the approach of Passover and Easter may have cushioned the blow, print unit book sales took a tumble last week, reports Publishers Weekly senior writer Andrew Albanese.
While the holiday/festival/religion segment within juvenile fiction saw a 46.8% jump in sales over the previous week, total sales dropped about 9% for the week, after holding flat the previous week, Albanese tells CCC’s Chris Kenneally.
Future sales figures will likely fall further with layoffs by Barnes & Noble also announced this week.
“It’s a bleak sign for beleaguered booksellers,” Albanese says. “Barnes & Noble has now temporarily closed more than 500 stores and furloughed what a spokesperson called, ‘a large number’ of employees at its headquarters. The furloughs occurred across all departments, the spokesperson explained, ‘with the aim to maintain all functions, but at a much-reduced level.’”
Every Friday, CCC’s “Beyond the Book” speaks with the editors and reporters of “Publishers Weekly” for an early look at the news that publishers, editors, authors, agents and librarians will be talking about when they return to work on Monday.
