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Tuesday, September 14th, 1999 Media Cynic | Forum | Advertising | Classifieds | Jobs Simon and Schuster to Distribute ibooks, inc ibooks, inc., a new publishing imprint, has announced a September launch. The imprint, which will feature works by bestselling authors Arthur C. Clarke, Irving Wallace, Howard Fast, and Raymond Chandler, will debut in September in the U.S. through Simon and Schuster Distribution and subsequently by Simon and Schuster UK and Simon and Schuster Australia. The website www.ibooksinc.com will launch officially on September 15, l999. "We are determined to bring important American authors of the 20th century online and in print using technological innovations available to us today," stated Byron Preiss, President. "The Internet helps us preserve the past and explore the future of publishing." Jack Romanos, President and C.O.O. of Simon and Schuster, stated, "Byron has been an innovator in publishing and begins this new imprint with the strong roots of best-selling authors. We are very excited about our association with ibooks." The books will concentrate on revival of 20th century authors and provocative frontlist titles whose content makes them appropriate for special marketing on the Internet. The first new title is Are We Alone in the Universe?, a trade paperback featuring the Seti@home.com search for extraterrestrial intelligence, which has logged over 1,000,000 users since its launch in June to unite Earth's personal computers in the scientific search for radio signals from alien life. ibooks will launch in September with the first trade paperback edition of The Deceivers, a work by the late Alfred Bester, whose earlier reissues were best-sellers for Vintage Books; and Arthur C. Clarke and Paul Preuss' best-selling series, Venus Prime. In October, it will publish a newly expanded edition of Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe, featuring work by Robert B. Parker, Sara Paretsky, and Roger L. Simon and over a dozen other mystery authors. The second phase of ibooks' evolution will focus on the portability of electronic versions of its books on laptops, and PDA environments such as Windows CE. USWeekly to Debut in March, 2000 US magazine will convert to a weekly frequency and premiere at the newsstand as USWeekly on March 17, 2000. The announcement was made by Jann S. Wenner, chairman of Wenner Media Incorporated, publisher of US. According to Mr. Wenner, USWeekly will be news-driven and focus primarily on entertainment. It will report the latest news and information on film, television and music in a photo-driven format. "The impact that celebrities have on our pop culture today is immeasurable, and the public's fascination with the personalities in entertainment is just as immense. Our readers never-ending love of celebrity news dictates that we give them more of what they want - and what they want is USWeekly," said Mr. Wenner. Terry McDonell has been appointed editor in chief of USWeekly. Mr. McDonell is currently vice president of Wenner Media and the editor of Men's Journal. He is a magazine publishing veteran and has served as editor at several award-winning publications, including Newsweek, Esquire and Rolling Stone. Mr. McDonell assumes the role that Mr. Wenner held at the monthly US. In addition, Charlie Leerhsen, current editor of the monthly US, has been appointed editor at the weekly. Mr. Leerhsen has over 20 years of experience in magazine publishing. Prior to joining US, he was managing editor of People Weekly. USWeekly will be targeted to adults 18-34 years old with above average income and education and will debut with a guaranteed rate base of 1 million. USWeekly will be primarily a newsstand magazine. The cover price will be $2.99. The magazine's newsstand marketing, merchandising and distribution will be handled by D.S.I. USWeekly's premiere at the newsstand will be supported with a multi-million dollar consumer and trade advertising campaign. According to Mr. Wenner, funding for USWeekly is being handled completely by Wenner Media Incorporated. "We considered bringing in an equity partner and discussed this with several entities who wanted to do the deal," he said. "However, in the end, I decided to self finance....We have ample resources and the project looks so attractive I want to keep it entirely within my company." In order to accommodate the editorial staff expansion planned for USWeekly, Wenner Media has secured facilities at 1177 Avenue of the Americas, located a few blocks from the company's flagship headquarters at 1290 Avenue of the Americas. In addition, the magazine will create a news bureau in Los Angeles. Vogue en Espanol Launches With October '99 Issue Vogue en Espanol, the Spanish-language edition of Vogue, a joint venture between Conde Nast Publications and Miami-based Ideas Publishing Group, launches with the October 1999 issue. The magazine will be distributed on newsstands September 15th in the U.S. and a total of 19 Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America. The announcement was made by S.I. Newhouse Jr., Chairman of Conde Nast Publications, and Mario Freude, Chairman & CEO of Ideas Publishing Group. The launch issue of Vogue en Espanol features cover model Carolyn Murphy. Vogue en Espanol will be published monthly, drawing on Vogue's content translated into Spanish, with an initial distribution of 182,500. Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour says, "As Vogue has established itself as the beacon of the fashion industry in the U.S. and the voice of contemporary culture, Vogue en Espanol will set the standard and will be the most important fashion magazine in the Spanish-speaking world." Jacqueline Blanco, also based in Miami, is the editor-in-chief of Vogue en Espanol. Previously she was editor-in-chief of Glamour en Espanol and earlier, fashion and beauty editor for Marie Claire en Espanol. Vogue is published by Conde Nast Publications, selling more than 1.1 million copies a month with a readership of 8.1 million women. Glamour en Espanol was launched with the March 1998 issue. Dave Davel Named Publisher for Equipment Today Cygnus Publishing has announced that Dave Davel has been named publisher of Equipment Today (ET). He will oversee the editorial, marketing and strategic direction of the magazine in addition to his role as publisher of Rental Product News. "Dave has an extensive background in the construction industry and is a major factor in the phenomenal growth of Rental Product News during the last four years," says Kevin Lephart, vice president of Cygnus Publishing Inc. "He has also overseen the development of our Construction Equipment Owners Group (CEO Group) which includes our Equipment Today, Rental Product News and Pavement magazines and we feel his understanding of the synergies between construction and equipment rental make him a perfect candidate for the position." The company also announced the promotion of Kris Flitcroft from sales representative to associate publisher of Rental Product News and Equipment Today. Kris brings an extensive background in the construction industry to this position. Before joining the company, Ms. Flitcroft was the marketing coordinator for Intertractor America Corporation. Former publisher of Equipment Today, Bruce Rabe, has been appointed publisher for two other company publications, OEM Off-Highway and Farm Equipment. Equipment Today is a resource for commercial contractors. Equipment Today, Rental Product News and Pavement are published by Cygnus Publishing. Click here to return to the homepage of The Write NewsTM Click here to subscribe to our free weekly email newsletter.  www.writenews.com Copyright © 1997-2007 by Writers Write, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
