Tag Archives: Penguin Ireland

Irish Top Ten Week Ending 15/01/2011

January 19, 2011 – 8:43 am

Despite the wall to wall publicity and the drama of a leadership challenge in the air, The Fitzpatrick Tapes failed to unseat Emma Donoghue’s Room from the top spot. Nonetheless it put in a strong performance for a January title and racked up 1,667 units against Donoghue’s massive tally of 2,096.

More interestingly, Emma Hannigan’s run of good fortune in book sales continued. She sold more units of her memoir Talk To The Head Scarf pushing it into the top ten, and despite dropping some sales for her paperback edition of Miss Conceived it stayed in the top ten. Both her publishers, Hachette for the memoir and Poolbeg for her fiction, will be pleased.

In fact it was a strong week for fiction and annuals with Neil Jordan’s Mistaken and David Nicholls One Day rolling in nice totals.

1: Room, Emma Donoghue, 2,096
2: The FitzPatrick Tapes: The Rise and Fall of One Man, One Bank, and One Country, Tom Lyons & Brian Carey, 1,667
3: Disney Playhouse Annual:2011, 1,314
4: Talk to the Head Scarf, Emma Hannigan, 1,094
5: The Killing Place, Tess Gerritsen, 1,046
6: Mistaken, Neil Jordan, 1,041
7: Official Manchester United FC Annual:2011, 923
8: One Day, David Nicholls, 871
9: Justin Bieber Unauthorized Annual:2011, 836
10: Miss Conceived, Emma Hannigan, 834

Data Supplied by Nielsen BookScan taken from the Irish Consumer Market week ending 15th Jan 2011
Image Credit:
Some rights reserved by radio1interactive

Tags Authors, Books, Bookselling, Business, David Nicholls, Emma Donoghue, Emma Hannigan, Hachette Ireland, Ireland, Irish Authors, Irish Books, Irish Bookselling, Irish Publishers, Irish Publishing, Irish Top Ten, Neil Jordan, Penguin Ireland, Tess Gerritsen, Top Ten | Permalink | Comment (0)

News

The Fitzpatrick Tapes ~ Tuesday Round Up

January 11, 2011 – 10:49 am

Today’s Irish Independent features a quote from Easons head of book buyer Maria Dickinson who says: ‘There has been huge demand for this book since it went on sale yesterday. Several Easons stores have had to re-order the title less than 24 hours after it went on sale.’ Read The Rest

The Belfast Telegraph focuses on the possibility that Cowen misled the Dail: ‘Taoiseach Brian Cowen repeatedly failed to tell the Dail that he was contacted by Anglo Irish Bank chairman Sean FitzPatrick about the share ownership crisis in the bank.’ Read The Rest

The Irish Times also focuses on the failure to disclose: It was not as if the Taoiseach had no opportunities to inform the public that he had spoken to Mr FitzPatrick not once, but twice. He had ample opportunity, in the Dáil and elsewhere, to inform the public of his interactions with the disgraced executive who personified Ireland’s banking calamity. And it was not as if Cowen was not asked the right question, as former taoiseach John Bruton once claimed to explain why he evaded giving a full explanation on a controversy. Read The Rest

The Bookseller features an article by IPN Editor, Eoin Purcell: ’McLoughlin said that Fitzpatrick “didn’t and won’t get a cent” from Penguin Ireland for his interviews.’ Read The Rest

Tags Anglo Irish Bank, Belfast Telegraph, Brian Cowen, Irish Indpendent, Penguin Ireland, Sean Fitzpatrick, The Bookseller, The Fitzpatrick Tapes, The Irish Times | Permalink | Comment (0)

Books & Authors News

The Secret Publication ~ Just How Penguin Ireland Published The Fitzpatrick Tapes

January 10, 2011 – 5:43 pm

A media blitz and a front page story in the Sunday Times Ireland would almost certainly be every publishers dream publicity for a book launch weekend, but for The Fitzpatrick Tapes, by Tom Lyons and Brian Carey, Penguin Ireland took strange and impressive measures to keep word of the book from the wider world until the VERY last-minute.

This is all the more impressive an achievement given that the book has been underway since Spring 2010. How did they do it?

Systems
For instance, the book was not listed in the company’s internal systems, on Amazon or the Book Depository in advance of publication as would be normal. In fact the only sign of a forthcoming book was this page on Penguin Canada under a false title, Lions And Tigers, fake author name, James Barrington, but the correct ISBN, 9781844882601.

Online Retailers
These action have created problems for online booksellers who are now rushing to catch up with the demand for the book as Irish Publishing News covered here. So far, only the Book Depository has create an accurate page for the title though that company does not yet have copies for sale.

Bricks & Mortar
The problems created by this secrecy for the online retailers is nothing compared to the issues the secret release created on the ground for bricks and mortar book stores.

Penguin Ireland MD, Michael McLoughlin, made clear in an interview with Irish Publishing News, that the retailers were only informed of the forthcoming title on Friday, and even then, they were not told the title or the subject. Several agreed nonetheless to take copies into stores on Sunday morning.

Getting copies to bookstores on a Sunday morning required the staff at the publisher to deliver copies directly from their Stephen’s Green office rather than via a distribution company.

That was how media organisations other than The Sunday Times got their copies and press releases too (though admittedly email and PDF versions did make this process easier).

And that is how you publish secretly, keep the loop small, limit information and break cover quickly!

Tags Amazon, Authors, Books, Books & Authors, Bookselling, Bookshops, Business, Ireland, Irish Authors, Irish Books, Irish Bookselling, Irish Publishers, Irish Publishing, Media, Penguin Ireland | Permalink | Comment (1)

News

The Fitzpatrick Tapes Monday Round Up

January 10, 2011 – 2:07 pm

A book based on a series of formal interviews given by Sean Fitzpatrick to Tom Lyons of the Sunday Times and co-written by Lyons and his Sunday Times Colleague Brian Carey has been ‘flying off the shelves’ according to the Publisher, Michael McLoughlin of Penguin Ireland.

McLoughlin also tweeted today that there were, ‘Lots of reorders this morning from Dublin bookshops.’

Yesterday we covered the story of how Penguin managed to bring the book to publication in a covert manner, with booksellers not knowing what the topic of the book was until copies arrived in store on Sunday morning.

The first to face questions was Brian Cowen who was revealed to have had two previously unknown contacts with the former Anglo Irish Bank Chief Executive and Chairman:

RTÉ: (Sunday, Monday)
The Irish Times: (Sunday, Monday)

Fionnan Sheahan in the Irish Independent raised some concerns over the book:

it is believed the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) considered taking out an injunction against the new book in which Mr FitzPatrick gives his version of Anglo’s collapse.
There were concerns the book’s contents could jeopardise potential prosecutions against Anglo management. But the DPP’s office did not take any action and did not obtain a copy in advance of publication.
Penguin, the publishers of the book, ‘The FitzPatrick Tapes’ said it had had no contact from state authorities.

Irish Independent: (Monday)

But the book also raised questions for Penguin Ireland on Twitter when well-known communications advisor, Damien Mulley demanded to know if Sean Fitzpatrick would benefit from the book and if the publisher would contribute some of the proceeds to a charity.

McLoughlin responded on Twitter saying, ‘it’s not ‘Seanie’s book’. It’s Tom Lyons & Brian Carey’s. No, we won’t be ‘donating’ any proceeds from sales to anybody.’

The authors of the book today appeared on Newstalk, RTE radio and several other radio outlets to discuss the book and the process of interviewing Fitzpatrick.

Tags Anglo Irish Bank, Books, Bookselling, Brian Carey, Brian Cowen, Damien Mulley, Fionnan Sheahan, Fitzpatrick Tapes, Irish Authors, Irish Books, Irish Independent, Irish Publishers, Media, Michael McLoughlin, Penguin Ireland, RTÉ, Sean Fitzpatrick, The Irish Times, The Sunday Times Ireland, Tom Lyons, Tweet, Twitter, Update | Permalink | Comment (0)

News

Penguin Publishes Book Of New Fitzpatrick Interviews

January 9, 2011 – 9:56 am

Penguin Ireland has this morning published The Fitzpatrick Tapes – a series of interviews with the former head of Anglo Irish Bank Sean Fitzpatrick.

Although booksellers were alerted to an impending publication on Friday, they were not told what the title was about and copies were only sent to bookstores this morning, Sunday 9 January.

The book is billed on the cover as ‘the rise and fall of one man, one bank and one country’ and is written by Sunday Times’ journalists Tom Lyons and Brian Carey.

Penguin Ireland has been working with the authors on the title since spring 2010, according to Penguin Ireland MD, Michael McLoughlin. Lyons conducted 17 formal taped interviews with Fitzpatrick over the course of 2010.

McLoughlin said that Fitzpatrick ‘didn’t and won’t get a cent’ from Penguin Ireland for his interviews.

The Penguin MD would not disclose the figure for the title’s print run, though he did say the company had been ‘robust’ with printing.

In an indication of the title’s importance, McLoughlin tweeted last night: ‘Unusually busy work day tomorrow. For the reason why, pick up the Sunday Times. I’ll keep you posted from 9am or so.’

Bookstores around Dublin and along the M50 corridor should have copies for sale today and stores further afield will have copies by tomorrow according to McLoughlin who, along with his staff and colleagues at Penguin Ireland, were distributing books and media information to bookstores and journalists today.

The book is priced at €18.99. An ebook version of the title will be published in three weeks.

Tags Anglo Irish Bank, Irish Authors, Irish Books, Michael McLoughlin, Penguin Ireland, Sean Fitzpatrick, Secret Publication] | Permalink | Comments (2)

Irish Top Ten

Irish Top Ten Week Ending 25/12/2010

January 5, 2011 – 11:09 am

When we discussed the top ten for the last full week before Christmas, we mentioned the scale of the sales. Well the final week (short of one day of course) was 25% bigger than that. The real winners were the top five. Jamie Oliver’s incredible streak of sales was capped by the incredible number of 11.271 and John Giles’s memoir scored a startling 8,718 while US2, from Ray D’Arcy sold 7,263. Gill & Macmillan’s Sounding was again a roaring success and in sold some 5,289 units.

Five of the top ten titles were published by Irish based publishers and five by foreign based publishers. The larger Penguin group had four titles in the top ten including two published by Penguin Ireland and two by other group companies.

Hachette Ireland’s decision to publish Giles’ memoir has paid off handsomely though whether it has paid for itself is hard to know given the rumoured large advance.

Emma Donoghue finishes a fine year with a strong fourth and early favourite for Christmas number one, Ryan Tubridy will be more than happy with his final week’s sales of 4,696.

1: Jamie’s 30-minute Meals, Jamie Oliver, 11,271
2: John Giles a Football Man, John Giles, 8,718
3: Us 2:Saturday 2nd October 2010:Today FM Photography Book, Ray D’Arcy, 7,263
4: Room, Emma Donoghue, 5,567
5: Soundings:Poems We Did for Our Leaving Certificate, 5,289
6: Guinness World Records 2011, 5,281
7: Wasters, Shane Ross & Nick Webb, 4,900
8: JFK in Ireland:Four Days That Changed a President, Ryan Tubridy, 4,696
9: Oh My God Delusion, Ross O’Carroll-Kelly, 4,501
10: The Help, Kathryn Stockett, 4,265

Data Supplied by Nielsen BookScan taken from the Irish Consumer Market week ending 25th Dec 2010

Tags Emma Donoghue, Gill & MacMillan, Guinness World Records, Hachette Ireland, Jamie Oliver, JFK in Ireland, John Giles, Kathryn Stockett, Nick Webb, Penguin, Penguin Ireland, Ray D'Arcy, Room, Ross O'Carroll Kelly, Ryan Tubridy, Shane Ross, Soundings, The Help | Permalink | Comment (0)

Irish Top Ten

Top Ten Week Ending 18/12/2010

December 22, 2010 – 8:45 am

Quite a week for Christmas this year with sales of the top ten titles falling JUST short of 50,000 units. If it confirms anything it is the total dominance of Irish writers and projects. Eight of the top ten titles and fifteen of the top twenty titles are Irish authored projects. A pretty remarkable result in a market that seems somewhere between 75% and 85% of the books sold on our shelves published by foreign based publishers.

It was another remarkable result for Penguin companies too, a number one, number eight AND a number ten. In fact in the top twenty alone they have seven titles, mostly Penguin Ireland titles of which there are four in the top twenty.

Both mentor and Gill & Macmillan will be pleased with the week of sales. Soundings has proved ‘the little title that could’, selling enormous numbers of units since release and finishing on a tremendous note. Mentor’s Us2 showed the strength of Ray D’Arcy with a huge but short sell through which included a number one the week before Christmas week. Barnardos will profit from the titles success too as a portion of each unit sold will go to the children’s charity.

Of course, because Christmas falls on a Saturday a huge week of sales remains to be account for (numbers are collected Sunday-Saturday). Given the hefty sales this week and the snow effect during the current week, it seems likely that those results may be more subdued. However, it will be interesting to see how the results end up.

1: Jamie’s 30-minute Meals, Jamie Oliver, 7,748
2: John Giles a Football Man, John Giles, 6,568
3: Us 2:Saturday 2nd October 2010, Ray D’Arcy , 6,063
4: Guinness World Records 2011, 5,484
5: Soundings: Poems We Did for Our Leaving Certificate, 4,274
6: JFK in Ireland:Four Days That Changed a President, Ryan Tubridy, 4,266
7: Room, Emma Donoghue, 4,107
8: The Oh My God Delusion, Ross O’Carroll-Kelly, 4,034
9: Homecoming, Cathy Kelly, 3,448
10: Wasters, Shane Ross & Nick Webb, 3,386

Tags 30 Minute Meals, A Football Man, Cathy Kelly, Christmas, Emma Donoghue, Gill & MacMillan, Guinness World Records, Homecoming, Irish Authors, Irish Books, Irish Publishers, Irish Top Ten, Jamie Oliver, JFK in Ireland, John Giles, Mentor, Nick Webb, Penguin, Penguin Ireland, Ray D'Arcy, Room, Ross O'Carroll Kelly, Ryan Tubridy, Shane Ross, Soundings, The Oh My God Delusion, US2, Wasters | Permalink | Comments (2)

News

Inkwell First Chapters Competition Winners Announced

December 21, 2010 – 11:04 am

Louise Hogan has won the Inkwell First Chapters Competition which was judged by Patricia Deevy, Editorial Director with Penguin Ireland,and Ger Nichol of the Book Bureau.

This is the first year of the competition which is run by Vanessa O’Loughlin of Inkwell Writers Workshops.

Hogan’s entry, Now or Never was described as having, ’lots of potential, with writing that was fresh and direct’ and both judges were, ‘keen to see

the full manuscript when it is ready.’

The runner up was, The Sea Between Us by Carole Craig, described as a, ’crisply written with potential for a juicy historical tale with a bit of Pride and Prejudice style tension between the two main characters.’

Tags Book Bureau, Carole Craig, Competitions, Inkwell, Irish Authors, Irish Writers, Irish Writing, Louise Hogan, Penguin Ireland, Vanessa O'Loghlin, Winners | Permalink | Comment (0)

Books & Authors

Room Tops Liveline Listeners Poll

December 20, 2010 – 7:09 pm

Liveline listeners voted for their favourite books of 2010 from a shortlist of ten on Monday 20th December 2010. The shortlist was selected by Liveline production team and the show’s presenter Joe Duffy.

The show operated a text poll that eliminated shortlisted titles until only one remained standing.

Some of the results are a surprise with Ryan Tubridy’s successful title falling out of the running at the first hurdle and Poolbeg published, His Name Is Rebecca, making it to Number four.

10: Ryan Tubridy- JFK in Ireland: Four days that changed a president (HarperCollins)
9: Dave Fanning- The Thing Is (HarperCollins)
8: Christy O’Connor – The Club (Penguin Ireland)
7: John Giles – A Football Man (Hachette Books Ireland)
6: Ross O’Carroll Kelly – The Oh My God Delusion (Penguin Ireland)
5: John Lonergan – The Governor (Penguin Ireland)
4: Rebecca De Havalland- His name is Rebecca (Poolbeg Press)
3: Ken Foxe – Snouts In The Trough (Gill & Macmillan)
2: Paul Murray – Skippy Dies (Faber & Faber)
1: Emma Donoghue – Room (Picador)

Tags Faber & Faber, Hachette Ireland, Harper Collins, Irish Authors, Irish Books, Penguin Ireland, Picador, Poolbeg, Ryan Tubridy | Permalink | Comment (0)

Irish Top Ten

Irish Top Ten Week Ending 11/12/2010

December 15, 2010 – 8:56 am

Maybe it was the snow that delayed the Christmas take off, maybe the budget, maybe it was just the way Christmas fell this year. Whatever the reason, this week finally saw the impact of Christmas shopping. Whereas even last week just over 1,000 copies was enough to make the top ten, this week number ten took 1,900 units and even number 20 was over 1,500.

Mentor books scored an incredible result with their Ray D’Arcy/Today FM backed Us 2 which sold an incredible 4,987 uinits in it’s second week on the market and climed from 38 last week to number one, beating off an exceptional performance by Jamie’s 30 minute Meals.

It continues to be a very good year for Penguin with seven of the top twenty titles part of the wider Penguin group of imprints.

1: Us 2:Saturday 2nd October 2010, Ray D’Arcy, 4,897
2: Jamie’s 30-minute Meals, Jamie Oliver, 4,633
3: John Giles a Football Man, John Giles, 3,775
4: Guinness World Records 2011, 3,690
5: The Oh My God Delusion, Ross O’Carroll-Kelly, 2,740
6: Soundings: Poems We Did for Our Leaving Certificate, 2,631
7: Room, Emma Donoghue, 2,191
8: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth, Jeff Kinney, 2,180
9: One Day, David Nicholls, 1,919
10: The Help, Kathryn Stockett, 1,918

Data Supplied by Nielsen BookScan taken from the Irish Consumer Market week ending 11th Dec 2010
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