Authors fear the worst if Penguin owner takes over Simon & Schuster

Analysis: if Bertelsmann, owner of Penguin Random House, buys US publisher, writers expect smaller deals and less choice for readersUK watchdog investigates Penguin owner’s Simon & Schuster takeoverJokes circulated online when, in 2013, Penguin and Random House merged: would the new mega-publisher, which became the world’s biggest trade publishing group, be known as Random Penguin? Penguin House? Now, as the prosaically named Penguin Random House’s parent company Bertelsmann’s $2.17bn acquisition of Simon & Schuster comes under scrutiny in the UK, the jokes are fewer and further between.Authors have made it abundantly clear that they fear the fallout if the deal goes ahead. When it was first announced last November, the Authors Guild in the US was quick to register its objections. The acquisition, which would bring heavyweight S&S authors including Hillary Clinton, John Irving, Stephen King and Bob Woodward under the PRH umbrella in the US, would “creat[e] a huge imbalance in the US publishing industry”, it warned, calling on the US justice department to step in. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2021-03-22 23:24:23 UTC ]

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Stephen King, Janelle Monáe and more: Let’s talk about speculative fiction to read this year

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A new story collection is coming from George Saunders.

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[ Literrary Hub | 2022-03-11 18:09:44 UTC ]
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A new book on songwriting is coming from Bob Dylan.

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[ Literrary Hub | 2022-03-09 17:15:40 UTC ]
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Stop moaning about sensitivity readers – if there was diversity in publishing we wouldn’t need them | Juno Dawson

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[ The Guardian | 2022-03-08 09:00:06 UTC ]
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The Future of the Espresso Book Machine

Following the death of legendary Random House editor Jason Epstein, who cofounded On Demand Books with Dane Neller in 2003, Neller said that he believes there is still a place for ODB's signature creation, which the company has called “an ATM for books.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-03-04 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Licensing Hotline: March 2022

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Gagliano Tapped to Head Boston Book Festival

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Simon & Schuster Canada To Open a Canadian Scribner Imprint

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Erroll McDonald Remembers Jason Epstein

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Want to help stop book bans? The Authors Guild has tools for you.

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[ Literrary Hub | 2022-02-09 19:49:33 UTC ]
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[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-02-07 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Jason Epstein, publishing executive who shaped literary tastes, dies at 93

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Book Deals: Week of February 07, 2022

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Publishers, Agencies Start Receiving Subpoenas as DoJ-PRH Case Ramps Up

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-02-01 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Trade figures' Beatles band come together again for NLT fundraiser

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