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 ]
Simon & Schuster's worldwide revenues rose to $170m in the three months to the end of March, up from $164m in the same quarter in 2019, parent company ViacomCBS has reported. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-11 08:42:31 UTC ]
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Offering what they call their ‘360-degree view of the potential as well as the shortcomings of the publishing industry,’ Italy’s literary agents are organizing during the ‘critical situation’ imposed by COVID-19. By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson ‘For a New Start After the... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-05-11 03:29:40 UTC ]
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First quarter sales rose 4% at Simon & Schuster over last year's first period, led by gains in digital audio and e-books, but the outlook for rest of 2020 is uncertain. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-07 04:00:00 UTC ]
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April 2020 found the publishing industry entering a period of unexpected change as bookshops closed and the focus turned to digital sales. The COVID-19 lockdown has forced writers to re-evaluate the future in this difficult time. As a narrative psychologist and fiction writer, I am interested... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-05 04:49:45 UTC ]
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Publishing industry sales rose 3.5% in the first two months of 2020 over the same period in 2019, according to data supplied to the AAP by 1,361 publishers for the organization’s StatShot report. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-01 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Could the coronavirus crisis and the UK lockdown be offering the publishing industry a glimpse into a world without bookshops? Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-30 02:18:22 UTC ]
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On April 15, Kim Jong Un, the North Korean dictator, missed an important birthday celebration: that of his late grandfather, Kim Il Sung, North Korea’s founding ruler. The younger Kim’s absence sparked speculation about his health. Early last week, Daily NK, a website based in South Korea,... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review
[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2020-04-28 12:08:17 UTC ]
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Publishing industry sales had a nice start to 2020, rising 3.5% through February, according to AAP's StatShot program. Sales of adult books were up 2.9%, and sales in the children/young adult rose 6.3%. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Random House Children’s Books will launch Magic Tree House Home Adventures, an online program of activities, crafts, recipes, reading challenges, and more. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-04-24 17:57:06 UTC ]
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In a joint statement released to mark World Book Day, leaders of three organizations serving the publishing industry issued a cry to support the country’s booksellers as they struggle to survive the Covid-19 pandemic. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Bob Loomis, who began his career as an editor at Random House when company founders Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer were still running the publisher, died April 19 at age 93. Loomis retired from Random House in 2011. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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He wielded his pencil at Random House for more than 50 years, nurturing the writing of Seymour Hersh, Neil Sheehan, Pete Dexter and other authors. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-04-20 22:42:26 UTC ]
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Random House Business has acquired Poles Apart, "a major new analysis of political and social tribalism" by the presenters of the podcast "Changed My Mind". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-17 07:14:51 UTC ]
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A survey by the Authors Guild of its members found a majority of authors had already lost significant income due to the ongoing pandemic, led by lost fees from appearances and writing opportunities. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Bluemoose Books founder Kevin Duffy has called on the publishing industry to rally behind its smaller presses at this time of crisis and to establish a fund to help independent publishers survive what Duffy said had been a 90% reduction in revenue as a result of the lockdown. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-14 17:49:26 UTC ]
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This is Personal Space: The Memoir Show, with Sari Botton. On this episode, Botton talks to Hadley Freeman about her fourth book, House of Glass: The Story and Secrets of a Twentieth-Century Jewish Family, a memoir and family Holocaust history published by Simon & Schuster. Botton and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-09 17:00:34 UTC ]
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For the first time, a spate of new and forthcoming titles written by people with disabilities across the United States suggests that the publishing industry may finally be amplifying their voices and stories. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster has launched a company-wide effort to support the newly established independent bookseller–focused online bookstore Bookshop.org and its affiliate network of independent booksellers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-31 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The Internet Archive says it is performing a public service by making its scans of print books available to all, but critics call it an 'attack' on copyright. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-30 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Rachel Denwood, who spent a decade helping to build HarperCollins Children’s Books into a big-brand kids’ giant, is looking to build a broader base of hits in her new role at Simon & Schuster Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-27 05:21:13 UTC ]
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