Publishers Delay E-Book Releases

Following the decision to delay the publication of electronic editions of several high-profile books, Simon & Schuster announced plans Wednesday to postpone by four months the e-book releases of 35 titles that will come out in hardcover editions between January and April.

Titles included in the delayed schedule are “The High School Reunion Diet” by David Colbert, “Point Omega” by Don DeLillo, “Courage and Consequence” by Karl Rove and “French Women Don’t Get Fat Cookbook” by Mireille Guiliano.

Adam Rothberg, a spokesman for Simon & Schuster, said the company — which previously delayed the e-book release of Stephen King’s “Under the Dome” by several weeks — had noticed that e-book sales were cannibalizing hardcover sales. “We’ve decided that we need to see what happens when we have this e-book sequencing of delaying the e-book for four months and how that affects the hardcover sales and how that affects e-book sales,” Mr. Rothberg said. “We’re not going to draw any conclusions about that until we can assess the data.”

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