McGraw-Hill Income and Revenues Rise in Second Quarter

NEW YORK, AUTHORLINK NEWS/July 23, 2010--The McGraw-Hill Companies today reported net income for the second quarter of 2010 increased by 16.4%, or $27.0 million, to $191.1 million. Revenue in the second quarter was up 0.6% to $1.5 billion. Earnings per share rose 17.3% to $0.52 for the same period in 2009.

"Solid results in the U.S. college and university market, a strong performance by Standard & Poor's indices, and strength in the global energy information market helped offset some softening in credit market services in the second quarter," said Harold McGraw III, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of The McGraw-Hill Companies. "Our operating margin improved by 340 basis points to 24.7%."

Education: Revenue for this segment increased by 1.8% to $565 million in the second quarter compared to the same period last year. The operating profit for the second quarter grew to $51.6 million compared to $21.0 million last year, which included a net pre-tax restructuring charge of $11.6 million. Foreign exchange rates increased revenue by $3.3 million and operating profit by $2.3 million.

Revenue for the McGraw-Hill School Education Group declined by 4.0%, or $13.7 million, in the second quarter to $324.9 million. The results were influenced by the timing of some Texas K-12 orders, which will be shipped during the third quarter.
Revenue for the McGraw-Hill Higher Education, Professional and International Group grew by 10.8% to $240.1 million.

A solid performance in the Texas K-12 reading and literature market, this year's biggest state new adoption opportunity at more than $400 million, was key to McGraw-Hill School Education Group's second quarter results. Texas did not adopt new materials in 2009. This year the McGraw-Hill School Education Group expects to capture about 40% of the Texas K-5 reading market and approximately 18% of the 6-12 literature market.

The McGraw-Hill School Education Group also will benefit from solid performances in K-5 reading and reading intervention in other adoption states, from a strong showing in the Florida 6-12 math market, and from excellent capture rates in non-core disciplines such as business and computer education and family and consumer sciences.

The gain in the state new adoption market was partially offset by lower sales in California, South Carolina and Indiana -- adoption states with reduced opportunities in 2010 compared to 2009. California is in the second year of its K-8 reading and literature adoption and the third year of its math adoption. But as the market leader there in reading, the McGraw-Hill School Education Group has been especially hard hit by the cut back in ordering by local school districts in response to the state's budget deficit and poor economic outlook.

In view of these recent trends, the McGraw-Hill School Education Group is trimming its estimate for the year's state new adoption market to a range of $825 million to $875 million. The previous range was $875 million to $925 million. The McGraw-Hill School Education Group still expects to capture about 30% of the state new adoption market. Growth in the state new adoption market is key to the 4% to 6% increase now forecasted this year for the total elementary-high school market. Previously, a growth rate of 6% to 7% had been forecasted.

Online homework management, assessment and tutoring products for students, including McGraw-Hill Connect, e-books and online courses all recorded double-digit revenue increases in the second quarter. The newly announced partnership with Blackboard Inc. will significantly expand student and faculty access to McGraw-Hill Connect by allowing them to use their Blackboard login for the full suite of McGraw-Hill Connect content and tools. Scores of McGraw-Hill Connect assignments, quizzes and tests will post directly to the Blackboard grade book, eliminating the need for students and instructors to manage access and updates in two separate systems.
In the U.S. college and university market in the second quarter, there also was double-digit growth in the following imprints: Science, Engineering and Math; Humanities, Social Sciences and Languages; and Business and Economics.
Without the benefit of another enrollment surge this fall, the U.S. college and university market is expected to grow 5% to 7% this year.

In professional publishing, the e-book market continued to expand and there were indications of an improving trend in traditional retail channels. As part of the digital transformation, the number of professional titles available to customers as e-books increased again in the second quarter and now stands at 5,000. The number of new iPhone applications was also increased in the second quarter. There are now more than 115 mobile apps available through various licensing partners.

Reflecting the impact of favorable foreign exchange rates, revenue increased modestly in international markets. Higher education sales in Southeast Asia, South Korea and Mexico contributed to the performance.

The Outlook: "Our previous earnings per diluted share guidance for 2010 was $2.55 to $2.65. Due to choppiness in some of our key markets, we now expect to finish the year at the low end of that range," said Mr. McGraw.

A webcast will be available live and in replay at http://investor.mcgraw-hill.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=96562&p=irol-EventDetails&EventId=3208170 after July 23.

The McGraw-Hill Companies is a global information and education company providing knowledge, insights and analysis in the financial, education and business information sectors through leading brands including Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, Platts, and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2009 were $5.95 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/.

Borders Completes Paperchase Sale

ANN ARBOR, Mich./July 20, 2010—Borders Group, Inc. today announced it has closed on the previously announced transaction to sell Paperchase Products Limited (“Paperchase”) to Primary Capital Limited, a U.K.-based private equity firm, for approximately $31 million USD.

The agreement was described in a July 13 news release as well as a Form 8-K report recently filed by the company.

Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE: BGP) is a leading specialty retailer of books as well as other educational and entertainment items. The company employs approximately 19,500 throughout the U.S., primarily in its Borders® and Waldenbooks® stores. Online shopping is offered through borders.com. Find author interviews and vibrant discussions of the products we and our customers are passionate about online at facebook.com/borders, twitter.com/borders and youtube.com/bordersmedia. For more information about the company, visit borders.com/media.

Borders Official Retailer for National Book Festival

ANN ARBOR, Mich./AUTHORLINK NEWS/July 15, 2010--Borders is the official book retailer for the 10th Annual National Book Festival. To celebrate, the retailer is teaming with the Library of Congress to encourage kids to design the National Book Festival's Official Bookmark -- the first ever designed by a member of the public. In addition to having his or her design displayed on the National Book Festival Official Bookmark to be distributed to tens of thousands who attend the event, the winner will receive a $500 Borders gift card and another $500 Borders gift card for their school library.


Kids have until the end of the month to submit their entries in the national "Design a Bookmark" contest. To enter, kids can download an official entry form at http://www.borders.com/online/store/MediaView_bookmarkcontest, design their bookmark image right on the page, and turn the form into their local Borders store. Two winners from each store will be awarded a $25 gift card and advance to the state competition. Then, two winning entries from each state will advance to the national competition, where one grand prize winner will be selected. In addition to a grand prize winner, there will be a second and third place winner, who will each receive two $250 gift cards and two $100 gift cards, respectively.

The 10th Annual National Book Festival, organized and sponsored by the Library of Congress, will be held Saturday, Sept. 25 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., between 3rd and 7th Streets from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. As the official book retailer for the event, Borders will have a store in the Book Sales Pavilion, so attendees can quickly and conveniently pick up their books before heading over to the Author Signing Pavilions located nearby.

The event will feature a number of authors including Suzanne Collins, Linda Sue Park, Katherine Paterson, Jane Smiley, Scott Turow and Gordon S. Wood with more to sign on in the coming weeks.

London Book Festival Call for Entries

LONDON/AUTHORLINK NEWS/July 8, 2010--The 2010 London Book Festival has issued a call for entries to its annual competition honoring the best of international publishing and added several new categories.

The 2010 London Book Festival will consider books in English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese and Italian in the competition. The works may be published, self-published or independent publisher non-fiction, fiction, children's books, poetry, art/photgraphy, teenage, how-to, audio/spoken word, comics/graphic novels, e-books, wild card (anything goes!), science fiction, romance and biography/autobiographical works.

A panel of judges will determine the winners based on the following criteria:
1) The story-telling ability of the author;
2) The potential of the work to win wider recognition from the international publishing community.

Grand prize for the 2010 London Book Festival Author of the Year is $1500 in U.S. funds and a flight from your city of entry to London OR Los Angeles - your choice!
ENTRIES: Please classify your book and enter it in the following categories. Multiple entries must be accompanied by a separate fee for each book.

1) General Non-fiction
2) General Fiction
3) Children's books
4) E-books
5) Comics/graphic novels
6) Wild Card
7) Teenage
8) Science fiction
9) Romance
10) Biography/Autobiography
11) Audio/spoken word
12) How-To
13) Poetry
14) Art/Photography

Deadline submissions in each category must be postmarked by the close of business on November 25, 2010. Winners in each category will be notified by e-mail and the results posted on the site. Please note that judges read and consider submissions on an ongoing basis, comparing early entries with later submissions.

Rules and entry forms are available online at http://www.londonbookfestival.com or may be faxed/e-mailed to you by calling our office at 323-665-8080.

Applications must be accompanied by a non-refundable entry fee via check, money order, credit card payment or PayPal online payment of $50 in U.S. dollars for each submission. Multiple submissions are permitted but each entry must be accompanied by a separate form and entry fee. Entry fee checks should be made payable to JM Northern Media LLC.

Entry packages should include one copy of the book; a copy of your official entry form; the entry fee or receipt from online payment; and any relevant marketing materials, i.e., press kits or other material that illuminates the background of your book.

Entries should be mailed to:
JM Northern Media LLC
The London Book Festival
7095 Hollywood Blvd. Suite 864
Hollywood, CA 90028, USA

AWARDS: The London Book Festival selection committee reserves the right to determine the eligibility of any project.
The London Book Festival is produced by JM Northern Media LLC, producers of the Hollywood Book Festival, New York Book Festival and DIY Book Festival. We are sponsored by the Larimar St. Croix Writers Colony, eDivvy, Westside Websites and Shopanista.

S&S Canadian eBooks Now on iBookstore

S&S Canadian eBooks Now on iBookstore

TORONTO and NEW YORK/ AUTHORLINK/July 1, 2010--Simon & Schuster Canada has announced that it is making ebooks available on Apple's new iBookstore in Canada starting today. iBookstore is included in the free iBooks app for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch (www.itunes.ca/appstore).

Among the ebooks now available on iBookstore are internationally bestselling titles from Stephen King, Kathy Reichs, Jodi Picoult, Robin Sharma and Cassandra Clare.
Kevin Hanson, President of Simon & Schuster Canada commented, “We are delighted that we can now bring our books to Canadian readers who have eagerly anticipated the pleasures of reading on the iPad, iPhone or iPod touch. We are absolutely committed to making our books available to readers whenever and however they choose to enjoy them, and we welcome the iBookstore to the Canadian bookselling marketplace.”