Book Magazine
| Editor-in-Chief | Jerome Kramer |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Bi-Monthly |
| Publisher | Mark Gleason |
| Total circulation (2000) |
1,400,000 |
| First issue | October/November 1998 |
| Final issue | November/December 2003 |
| Company | West Egg Communications |
| Country | United States |
| Based in | New York City |
| Language | English |
Book Magazine (later retitled Barnes & Noble Presents Book) was an American bi-monthly popular literary magazine founded in 1998 by Mark Gleason and Jerome Kramer and published by West Egg Communications. Described by its editor as "the Rolling Stone—not the Billboard—of the book industry", MediaBistro.com said it was "also the Us Weekly of the industry, offering up juicy tidbits of what passes for gossip in this relatively respectable trade", noting for prospective writers that it was aimed at "enthusiastic leisure readers". The New York Times said Book "profiles authors and their works in much the way that People magazine reports on celebrities".
In November 2000, bookseller Barnes & Noble purchased a 50-percent share of the company for $4.2 million, after which the magazine operated as a partnership. Thirty-one issues were published through the end of 2003, when the magazine ceased operations after Barnes & Noble stopped its funding following several years of losses. During the entire run, Gleason served as Book's publisher and president and Kramer as its editor-in-chief.
In 2003, Book was nominated in the fiction category of the National Magazine Awards.
Book's editorial and production offices were originally in Chicago, with business operations running out of Summit, New Jersey. Kramer and Gleason—a former reporter for Advertising Age—raised $200,000 to publish the first two issues, mostly from their own pockets. Before Barnes & Noble stepped in, Book lost $700,000 in its first two years of operation.
In November 2000, the magazine made a deal with Barnes & Noble to offer a free one-year Book subscription to new members of their "Reader's Advantage" loyalty program. This added about 1.3 million readers to the magazine's original circulation of 100,000, although the magazine promised its advertisers a "base rate" of 700,000. Kramer said "when it came down to converting those people over [to paying subscribers] we ran into a concrete wall." Readers who were receiving the magazine for free through Barnes & Noble refused to pay for subscriptions. Only five percent of readers renewed their subscriptions. Gleason said that advertisers had difficulty believing the circulation numbers because they rose so quickly; the magazine's production costs grew, but advertising income did not. In an article about small publishers with income problems due to an advertising recession in 2001, Gleason remarked, "It's harder for the independents ... because usually we're not the first item for people buying advertising". To help cover the costs, Barnes & Noble invested $4.2 million in the company, gaining half ownership. In 2000, the magazine relocated to Manhattan after Barnes & Noble's investment.
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