Melville House Books

Random House CEO Peter Olson‘s brief but pointed comment in his year-end letter to employees that the company has “tentative plans to sell books directly to consumers through its own Web site” has elicited a sharp reply from Barnes & Noble CEO Stephen Riggio. In a New York Times report by Edward Wyatt, Riggio says he is “deeply concerned” about the Random House plans. Wyatt says the two “industry giants” are “taking their frustrations out on each other” because they are “frustrated by two years of little to no growth.” But he also notes that many other major publishers—such as Penguin, Norton, Scholastic and Harlequin—already sell books from their own sites. To retailers, the threat of publishers selling their own wares is severe: without having to pay middlemen, publishers could offer drastic discounts.

Dennis Johnson is the founder of MobyLives, and the co-founder and co-publisher of Melville House.