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For the book publishers and authors perspective, Borders was once a worthy rival to Barnes & Noble. Perhaps even bigger than B&N. The two brick-and-mortar chain bookstores were able to offer better prices than independent bookstores and drove many out of business. But that was before the success of Amazon and other online retailers brought the phrase “brick and mortar” into regular use — and once that happened, everything changed; indeed many UK book publishers watched in horror last year the UK divison of Borders hit the wall.

Barnes & Noble, if buffeted by Amazon’s success, has remained afloat; Borders has been taking on water.

On Dec. 30 Borders announced it would not make payments owed to some publishers, without specifying whom. Hachette confirmed that it was among those who would not be paid by Borders.

Borders has nearly 200 Waldenbooks and Borders Express outlets slated for closure before the month of January is out. Additional Borders stores are also set to close, including Westwood’s.

Borders is also cutting back on staff. On Wednesday, Borders announced that it would close a distribution center in Tennessee, eliminating more than 300 jobs; 15 management positions were eliminated Friday. And the resignation of two top executives — the chief information officer and general counsel — was announced at the beginning of 2011.

Meanwhile, Borders is seeking to restructure its debt like the frantic chess of a brutal endgame. On Thursday, Borders met with publishers and proposed that the payments owed by the bookseller be reclassified as a loan, as part of that refinancing. “But on Friday, publishers remained skeptical of the proposal put forth by Borders,” the New York Times reports. “One publisher said that the proposal was not enough to convince the group that Borders had found a way to revive its business, and that they were less optimistic than ever that publishers could return to doing business with Borders.”

Nevertheless, Borders — which lost money in the first three quarters of 2010 — remains the second-largest bookstore chain by revenue. Its loss would have a significant effect on book publishers across the United States.

Investors, however, seem cheered by the recent news swirling around Borders. Shares rose 12% on Thursday after reports that the bookseller was close to securing financing.

It’s heavy work in the world of book publishing at present, with Hachette Book Group confirming that they are one of the unlucky publishers that will miss out on payments from the beleaguered Borders, Inc USA, as the bookstore closes a major book distribution plant in the mid-west costing 300 jobs.

Now for the second time in four months, like a game of chess, the leadership has changed at the book publisher of novels by such distinguished authors as Sen. Edward Kennedy and Christopher Hitchens.

Author-editor-producer Susan Lehman has been forced out as publisher of Twelve after taking over in September. Twelve is an imprint of Grand Central Publishing, which announced Jan. 11 in an company email shared with The Associated Press that associate publisher Cary Goldstein will replace Lehman effective immediately.

“Susan Lehman is an extremely insightful, creative and talented editor,” Grand Central executive vice-president and publisher Jamie Raab said in the email. “Unfortunately, the role of publisher just wasn’t the perfect fit.”

Lehman had yet to acquire any new books for Twelve, designed to release just 12 books a year, one every month. But Raab told the AP that obtaining new books was not a factor that toys in her decision and otherwise declined to offer a specific reason beyond saying that being a publisher is “an all-encompassing job” that can take years to learn.

“Had I had more time, I’m certain I could have failed on my own demerits,” Lehman wrote in an email to the AP. “But 12 weeks isn’t enough time to do even that. It’s a wonderful imprint. I had lined up great play chess and non-fiction writers for terrific books I hope will find their way into print. Cary Goldstein has a great job and I wish him well.”

Lehman has worked in a variety of christian book publishers fields, from editing at Riverhead Books to producing television documentaries.

Jonathan Karp started Twelve in 2005, but left in June to head the flagship trade imprint of Simon & Schuster. Twelve’s bestsellers include Kennedy’s True Compass, Hitchens’ Hitch-22 and Sebastian Junger’s War.

Grand Central is a division of the Hachette Book Group – also associated with major children’s publishers and toy shops in New York.