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 ]
Random House has acquired 'Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights,' a new novel by Salman Rushdie, set to pub in September. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The novelist Robert Harris was right to call the BBC’s lack of a books show a ‘disgrace’. There’s plenty the corporation could do to make a popular literary programme on TVWith injury, there is always a little insult. When a BBC spokesperson, responding to Robert Harris’s complaints at the Costa... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster in the US has launched a new literary fiction imprint called Scout Press. The list will launch with literary agent Bill Clegg’s debut novel Did You Ever Have a Family, set for release on 15th September this year. Scout Press will be part of the Gallery Books Group, with... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster has launched a new literary fiction imprint called Scout Press, debuting it with the first novel by literary agent Bill Clegg. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Six Egmont employees will lose their jobs at the end of the month following the closure of the US office, the company has confirmed. The company also said it will publish its spring 2015 list and books will continue to be available via Random House, but it did not say what would happen to... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sonny Mehta has paid tribute to former colleague Simon Master [pictured], who died suddenly last week, with Mehta telling The Bookseller he felt “extremely privileged to have known him”. Master died on Friday (16th January) while on holiday, at the age of 70. He was formerly deputy group... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Michael Joseph has acquired a thriller about a woman who survived an attack by a serial killer. Publishing director Maxine Hitchcock bought UK and Commonwealth rights to Black-Eyed Susans, and one other untitled thriller, by Julia Haeberlin from Rachel Kind at Random House in the US. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Former Random House group deputy chairman Simon Master died suddenly on Friday (January 16th). Master, who was 70, died while on holiday. Master was deputy group chairman for Random House from 1989 to 2004 and previously worked at Pan, where he was editorial director, publishing director and... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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James Patterson, already among the world's best-selling authors, plans to shake up the publishing industry with the launch of his new novel, Private Vegas, which will self-destruct within 24 hours. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2015-01-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Writers believe that the publishing industry still views them largely through a prism of ethnicity, but industry insiders say that there is no pigeonholing based on race. Authors told The Bookseller they are still defined by their racial identity for marketing purposes and receive more success... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Karyn Marcus is returning to Simon & Schuster as a senior editor, starting February 2. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Myriad has appointed Louisa Pritchard to head up its international rights, taking over from Adrian Weston. Pritchard is the founder of LPA, which sells international rights on behalf of agencies and publishers. She previously worked as head of rights at PFD, foreign rights director at Orion and... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After signing a book deal with Faber in December, YouTube blogger Louise Pentland, also known as Sprinkle of Glitter, has signed a second deal with Simon & Schuster UK. Abigail Bergstrom, commissioning editor of non-fiction at S&S, bought world rights to a “glitzy and personal”... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The CEO of Publishing Technology offers his five predictions for trade publishing in 2015, including more hybrid pubs, content marketing and mobile reading. The post Five Trade Publishing Predictions for 2015 appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-01-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors including 'The End of Illness' David B. Agus will be offering video classes through Simon & Schuster. Topics include health, self-help, and finance. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster has made two appointments to its editorial team in Canada, while confirming the departure of two other staff members. Nita Pronovost will now be joining the Canada operation as editorial director from her position as senior editor at Doubleday where she built “an impressive... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster has launched a new series of online courses starring S&S authors, who will "expand on and complement" their published work in video tutorials. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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One day about three years after I’d left the New Yorker to become a book editor, Alberto Vitale—former CEO of Random House, Inc., a genial, intelligent, and remarkably tan businessman, originally from Italy and Olivetti—stopped me in the hall outside my office. “Profesore, how are you?” Alberto... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2015-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After suffering two major defeats in its legal battle with Google’s library scanning partners, the Authors Guild this week finally ended the litigation. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster has seen an "especially" productive year in business, with "encouraging" sales seen after joining US and UK subscription platforms. In an end-of-year letter to staff and authors, Carolyn Reidy, president and c.e.o of Simon & Schuster in the US, said the publisher had... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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