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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Book Deals: Week of July 19, 2021

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Art as a “Catalyst for Conversations”: A Conversation with Philbrook Curator Susan Green, by Michelle Johnson

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Penguin Random House USA Sets September 13 to Start Reopening Offices

The Penguin Random House US staff is told in a memo that vaccinations will be required in offices reopening in September. The post Penguin Random House USA Sets September 13 to Start Reopening Offices appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

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Laura Lippman’s suspense novel ‘Dream Girl’ takes its cue from Stephen King

In Lippman’s 25th novel, a bedridden novelist is haunted by a woman who claims to be one of his characters. Continue reading at The Washington Post

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A long way to go

Representation matters. Last year, using the 2020 Arthur C. Clarke Award submission list, I wrote about the problems facing the genre publishing industry here in the UK. Since then, using the same methodology, we’ve collated the data from 2013 through 2020 to look for progress. We could have... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-07-07 19:02:10 UTC ]
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New Publisher Says It Welcomes Conservative Writers Rejected Elsewhere

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[ The New York Times | 2021-06-15 22:28:39 UTC ]
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Books in the Media: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex sits comfortably in critic's picks

Last week, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex published her first children's book The Bench with Penguin Random House Children's. It picked up reviews from the Evening Standard, the Irish Times, the Telegraph, the Independent and the New York Times, making it one of the most reviewed new titles. Continue reading at The Bookseller

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The Conservative Publishing Industry Has a Joe Biden Problem

Neither authors nor publishing houses have figured out how to turn the new president into a compelling villain. Continue reading at The Atlantic

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Malorie Blackman | 'I can only hope that my books encourage further debate and discussion'

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Book Deals: Week of May 31, 2021

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How Booksellers Were Complicit in the Resurgence of White Supremacy and the Rise of Donald Trump

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U.S. Book Show: Inside Ingram, a Quiet Force in Trade Publishing

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S&S serves up Abbs' Language of Food

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The Book Closes on HMH Trade

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S&S Gets Solid Start to 2021

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