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Weekly News Digest
April 19, 2022 — In addition to this week's NewsBreaks article and the monthly NewsLink Spotlight, Information Today, Inc. (ITI) offers Weekly News Digests that feature recent product news and company announcements. Watch for additional coverage to appear in the next print issue of Information Today. For other up-to-the-minute news, check out ITI’s Twitter account: @ITINewsBreaks. CLICK HERE to view more Weekly News Digest items.

Publishers Weekly News Roundup

“Again, a Fantagraphics Graphic Novel Is Stranded on a Ship” by Calvin Reid, from April 13, states:

Once again, the print run of a graphic novel published by Fantagraphics Books is trapped on board a container ship. The entire 10,000-copy print run of cartoonist Jordan Crane’s new graphic novel, Keeping Two, is on board the Ever Forward, a 1,000-foot ship carrying nearly 5,000 containers, that has been mired near shore in the Chesapeake Bay for more than three weeks.

Jacq Cohen, Fantagraphics executive director of consumer marketing and publicity, confirmed that the ship is physically trapped in the Bay. Cohen also told PW its likely that other publishers also have titles trapped onboard the ship. A source knowledgeable about the situation, confirmed to PW that other publishers have books on the stranded ship, although it is unclear which publishers or how many.

“Maryland Gives Up on Its Library E-Book Law” by Andrew Albanese, from April 11, reports:

Maryland’s library e-book law is effectively dead. In a recent court filing, Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh said the state would present no new evidence in a legal challenge filed by the Association of American Publishers, allowing the court’s recently issued preliminary injunction blocking the law to stand, and paving the way for it to be converted into a permanent injunction.

“The State acknowledges that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and that the Court may grant or deny further relief in this matter without a further hearing or trial,” the filing states. However, rather than convert Judge Deborah L. Boardman’s preliminary injunction into a permanent injunction, state attorneys argued that a less burdensome declaratory judgment would suffice.

“The Book Sales Boom Is Over” by Jim Milliot, from April 8, shares:

Unit sales of print books fell 8.9% in the first quarter, which ended April 2, from the same period in 2021, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. The decline was expected, as first-quarter sales in 2021 soared 29.2% over the first period in 2020. Unit sales were 183.9 million in the most recent quarter, down from 201.9 million a year ago, but they were still up about 16% over the first quarter of 2020, when sales began to soften due to pandemic-related lockdowns.