Commenting on the results, Nigel Newton, Chief Executive, said: “Bloomsbury experienced excellent trading in the first half with year-on-year profit growth of 60% to £4.0 million. This has delivered our highest first half earnings since 2008 and exceeded the Board’s expectations. Online book sales and e-book revenues were significantly higher. The Consumer division had an excellent performance with 17% revenue growth and a £2.1 million increase in profit before tax and highlighted items to £2.7 million. Stand-out bestsellers during the period included Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People about Race, Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood, White Rage, Humankind and Such A Fun Age. In the Non-Consumer division, our strategy of developing online academic resources, conceived five years ago, meant we were well placed to benefit from the accelerated shift by academic institutions to digital products to support remote learning. We saw 47% growth in sales of Bloomsbury Digital Resources as a result.

The 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. Valentine’s Day Look Book is here, helping gift-givers find the perfect expression of love for all the sweethearts in their lives. This annual guide includes thoughtful, playful, and romantic gift ideas, such as one-of-a-kind floral arrangements and preserved roses from 1-800-Flowers.com®, customized keepsakes for everyone (including pets!) from PersonalizationMall.com®, prepared gourmet meals and indulgent desserts from Harry & David®, plus chocolate truffles, baked goods and buttercream frosted treats from Simply Chocolate®, Wolferman’s Bakery®, and Cheryl’s Cookies®. With suggestions for planning the ultimate date night at home, gifts for the littlest loves, and perfect presents for him, the company’s family of brands have everything needed to make a lasting impression this Valentine’s Day.

Learning technology company HMH today announced that the company’s supplemental and intervention solutions were fully reviewed and approved by Chicago Public Schools for usage across the district. These HMH digital tools comply with the Student Online Personal Protection Act (SOPPA), the student data privacy law that regulates students' covered information by schools, the Illinois State Board of Education, and education technology vendors. Through the SOPPA approval process, HMH entered into an agreement with Chicago Public Schools to provide additional guarantees that student data is protected when collected by the company and that the data is used for beneficial purposes only. Protecting student data and therefore the students themselves is of vital importance to HMH. https://www.hmhco.com/about-us/press-releases/chicago-public-schools-approve-hmh-digital-tools-as-student-data-privacy-compliant