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 ]
The Bookseller's conference FutureBook 2015 was a timely reminder for the publishing industry that its digital transformation has barely begun, that it has a whole universe of possibilities to explore, and that its careful progression may yet turn into an unsightly stumble. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Christian Lorentzen talks to the legendary editor in an extract from a forthcoming issue of the Paris ReviewIt’s the custom for editors to keep a low profile and to underplay any changes they may make to an author’s manuscript. Gordon Lish is a different animal. Not since Maxwell Perkins has an... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A coalition of authors groups and booksellers is urging the Supreme Court to reverse the verdict in Apple's ebook price-fixing case. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster has restructured its marketing and publicity teams, with communications director Hannah Corbett leaving the publisher after 13 years. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-11-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The publisher has announced an accelerated publishing schedule for the bestselling author that will see the release of 12 Steel titles in 2016. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-11-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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University Press Week runs November 8-14. This handy infographic summarizes all you need to know about this dynamic segment of the publishing industry. The post Infographic: Launching University Press Week, November 8-14 appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-11-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Softening sales for digital books have impacted the bottom lines at HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster, according to both companies' recent earnings reports. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-11-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author James Dawson argues that the publishing industry needs not to fight the power of YouTube, but rather seek to harness it. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-11-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Revenue at the Big Five house increased 2% in the third quarter, rising to $203 million. Bestselling adult titles in the quarter included 'The Survivor' by Vince Flynn and Kyle Mills, and this year's Pulitzer Prize-winner for fiction, Anthony Doerr's 'All the Light We Cannot See.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-11-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Skyhorse Publishing has named Mark Gompertz group editorial director, effective November 9. Gompertz, who was most recently at Hearst Magazines, had a long tenure at Simon & Schuster. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-10-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This week, we asked our readers what the publishing industry could do to encourage diversity within its ranks. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-10-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Despite media reports to the contrary, Spain’s publishing industry is robust and diverse, and investing for the future, writes Antonio María Ávila. The post Spain’s Publishing Industry: Positioned to Fight for the Future appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-10-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Blendle isn’t just about unbundling the traditional news package. The Dutch startup is quietly building a set of tools for the publishing industry that goes well beyond selling stories by the slice within a neatly designed interface &nd ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2015-10-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishing is more sinned against than sinning. You won’t find it hard to find someone somewhere having a pop at the business of books, pointing out its failings while ignoring its successes. It comes with the territory: that shock of the new and frustration with the traditional. As journalist... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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From editorial assistants to senior VP’s, this is how much people who work in publishing reported earning last year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The U.S Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has rejected the Authors Guild's appeal and affirmed that Google’s library book scanning project is protected by fair use. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google's book scanning project constitutes fair use under U.S. copyright law, an appeals court confirmed Friday, ending a ten-year legal fight by the Authors Guild and other writers' groups to have it stopped. Google began working with libraries in 2004 to digitize their book collections,... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2015-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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An appeals court rejected the claims of the Authors Guild that Google's massive book scanning project is copyright infringement. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster has bought world rights (excluding Germany) in These Days of Ours, a new novel by Juliet Ashton, and will publish in June 2016. Ashton, who was previously published by Sphere in the UK, is a superstar in Germany, where she has shifted more than 100,000 copies for... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple’s ebook division will no longer be overseen by a court-appointed monitor after the US Justice Department ruled that the company had made improvements to its antitrust compliance program. Despite the positive outcome for Apple, the Justice Department was critical of the company’s... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2015-10-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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