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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Young Adult Literary Agents Open to Submissions

Literary agents are gatekeepers of the publishing industry. Find young adult literary agents open to submissions in this post. List will be updated regularly. The post Young Adult Literary Agents Open to Submissions by Robert Lee Brewer appeared first on Writer's Digest. Continue reading at Writer's Digest

[ Writer's Digest | 2019-07-15 13:43:52 UTC ]
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The fourth woman

Nearly a decade ago, Lisa Taddeo signed a book deal with Simon & Schuster to write about desire in America. Taddeo was on a hot streak: She was writing regularly for Esquire, New York, and other publications, including a reported fictional first-person piece told from the point of view of... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review

[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2019-07-09 15:59:45 UTC ]
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This Novel About the Publishing Industry in 1987 Shows How Little Has Changed

Eve Rosen is an aspiring writer. She’s an editorial assistant at a literary imprint, but the office seems far friendlier to WASP-y men than to Jewish women like her. When her boss’s star writer, the longtime New Yorker reporter Henry Gray, invites Eve to spend the summer of 1987 as his research... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2019-07-09 14:00:32 UTC ]
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The Bookseller Names 2019 Rising Stars; Pan Mac’s Laura Ricchetti is the ‘Shooting Star’

A new class of 40 'Rising Stars' in the UK publishing industry is named by The Bookseller, in association with sponsor Frankfurter Buchmesse. The post The Bookseller Names 2019 Rising Stars; Pan Mac’s Laura Ricchetti is the ‘Shooting Star’ appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-07-09 05:35:30 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House India in Promotional Partnership With Wattpad

In its arrangement with PRH India, Canada’s Wattpad will introduce some of the publisher’s writers to Wattpad readers, rather than generating content from the platform. By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson Introducing Indian Writers to Wattpad Users eeping up its brisk rate of... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-07-08 15:35:12 UTC ]
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Book Biz Stock Sank Over Past Six Months

For the most part, publishing industry stocks have fallen out of favor with investors, and that look likely to change anytime soon. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-07-05 04:00:00 UTC ]
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AT&T considers selling regional sports networks to slash debt

AT&T Inc. is weighing a sale of its regional sports networks as part of a plan to cut as much as $8 billion in debt by the end of the year, according to people familiar with the matter. The four regional networks, which includes rights to teams such as the hockey’s Pittsburgh Penguins,... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-07-02 19:54:11 UTC ]
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Penguin stops printing Pedro Baños book after antisemitism claims

Investigation led by Julia Neuberger finds Spanish edition of How They Rule the World has ‘echoes of Jewish conspiracy theories’Penguin Random House has stopped short of demands to withdraw Pedro Baños’s How They Rule the World from sale, but will print no further copies of the book after an... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-06-27 13:01:37 UTC ]
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New chapter? UK print book sales fall while audiobooks surge 43%

Publishers hit by surprise 5.4% fall in 2018 – but warn against proclaiming terminal declineUK book sales fell for the first time in five years in 2018, despite the success of bestsellers such as Michelle Obama’s autobiography, Becoming.The UK publishing industry was hit by a surprise fall of... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-06-25 23:01:37 UTC ]
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Total UK publishing revenues down 2% in 2018; consumer book market stable

UK publishing industry revenues overall stood at £6.05bn in 2018, down 2% on the £6.15bn revenue of the previous year, according to the PA Publishing Yearbook 2018, just released.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-06-25 05:53:24 UTC ]
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2 Big Book and Magazine Printers Face Suit to Block Their Merger

The U.S. Justice Department is suing to stop the proposed $1.4 billion deal between Quad/Graphics and LSC Communications on antitrust grounds. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2019-06-24 16:52:47 UTC ]
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AAP Issues Its Annual 2018 StatShot Look at the US Publishing Industry

Describing a gradual decline in revenue for the US book business, the AAP's StatShot annual report estimates that the industry made $25.82 billion in 2018. The post AAP Issues Its Annual 2018 StatShot Look at the US Publishing Industry appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-06-24 03:19:46 UTC ]
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‘Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am’ director reveals how he captured the novelist’s intimate moments

Timothy Greenfield-Sanders' new documentary tells the story of a pioneering book editor, the first female African American senior editor at Random House, who brought to print such distinctive voices as Angela Davis, Gayle Jones and Muhammad Ali, as well as popular and influential collections... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-06-21 15:30:00 UTC ]
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Penguin orders independent review of book over antisemitism claims

Julia Neuberger to analyse Pedro Baños’s How They Rule the World, which includes passages about the Rothschild familyPenguin Random House has asked Rabbi Baroness Julia Neuberger to independently review one of its books, Pedro Baños’s How They Rule the World, after allegations of antisemitism... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-06-17 12:44:17 UTC ]
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Stambaugh to Lead Consolidated S&S Business Teams

Doug Stambaugh has been promoted to the newly created position of v-p and director of strategic operations and business development at Simon & Schuster. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-06-06 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Google could be targeted in the first antitrust probe of Big Tech under Trump

The investigation into the company’s search and “other businesses” may signal the end of Washington’s recent hands-off approach to regulating tech giants. The Justice Department’s antitrust division is laying the groundwork for an investigation of Google, according to reports in The Wall Street... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2019-06-01 01:34:36 UTC ]
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BookExpo 2019: J.J. and Chris Grabenstein Collaborate to Mark Individuality

“I’ve written 58 books and J.J. always reads them first,” says Chris Grabenstein, who refers to his wife, J.J., as his “secret weapon.” That will change this fall when J.J.’s name appears alongside his on their debut middle grade novel, 'Shine!' (Random House, Nov.). Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BookExpo 2019: Bookstores Central to Publishing, Industry Powerhouses Say

Publishing industry leaders made a strong declaration about the centrality of bricks-and-mortar retail to the publishing industry during a Thursday session at BookExpo 2019. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-05-30 04:00:00 UTC ]
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BookExpo 2019: S&S Welcomes Angelina Ballerina and Max & Ruby

Three classic picture book and board book characters, who have enchanted multiple generations of children, return in a pair of fall releases from Simon & Schuster. The books mark the relaunch of the Angelina Ballerina and Max & Ruby series under the S&S banner. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-05-30 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Robert Bernstein, publisher and champion of dissidents around the world, dies at 96

Robert L. Bernstein, a publishing executive and human rights activist who presided over a generation of dynamic growth at Random House and advocated for dissidents around the world, from the Soviet Union to Argentina, has died after a brief illness. He was 96. The tall, sandy-haired... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-05-29 20:40:00 UTC ]
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