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's Ballantine Books joined the ranks of the Food Network, Smithfield, Wal-Mart, and a bevy of other companies in ceasing its relationship with the self-proclaimed queen of butter. Continue reading at ABC News
[ ABC News | 2013-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pearson and Bertelsmann have completed the merger of Penguin and Random House to create Penguin... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-06-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Shakespeare's plays will become contemporary novels, as the transatlantic Hogarth Press, an imprint of Random House, has announced it is commissioning prominent writers to adapt the Elizabethan plays.Shakespeare’s plays will become contemporary novels, as the transatlantic Hogarth Press, an... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-06-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Justice Department’s ebook price fixing trial – alleging that Apple conspired to raise ebook prices – is scheduled to end this week. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-06-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster is consulting with the Imperial War Museum following accusations that a... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-06-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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An investigation by historian Guy Walters in the Daily Mail published last week says author Joe Corry's memoir "simply isn't true."A sensational upcoming British spy memoir of World War II is replete with derring-do worthy of “Inglourious Basterds”: battlefield bravado, concentration camp... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-06-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The merger of Penguin and Random House is expected to close in July, creating—with sales of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-06-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster US has formed a partnership with New York's Algonquin Hotel, famous for... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Random House c.e.o. Gail Rebuck has been interviewed for SB.TV, the online youth channel which... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-06-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Few people understand the magic of libraries better than Philip Pullman, author of His Dark Materials, but all is not well when it comes to digital lending. As the soon-to-be president of the Society of Authors, Pullman is leading the charge against publishing houses that may be shortchanging... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2013-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Random House and National Geographic Society have announced a multi-year extension of their sales and distribution partnership. They have partnered since 2005. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-06-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster Children's in both the UK and US will be publishing a picture book... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-06-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Justice Department will lay out in a civil antitrust trial its accusations that Apple masterminded a cartel with publishers to raise ebook prices.For a company that beat down prices of online music, Apple Inc. finds itself in the odd situation of defending itself against government claims... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-06-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book Expo America, BEA, used to be the place to go to get your hands dirty with printer's ink--all the books were hot off the presses. Now the annual industry gathering at New York City's Javitz Center has been increasingly invaded by geeks. I'm one of these geeks, despite the fact that I've... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster is to expand its operations in Canada, establishing an editorial base... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-05-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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For the first time in a long time some optimism is returning to the publishing industry. Circulation numbers and revenues were decimated by the rise of the internet and while the future for print still looks shaky, the companies behind newspapers and ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-05-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Despite his early support for ebooks, Stephen King latest novel, Joyland will be published in print only, with no digital version anticipated. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-05-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pearson PLC's book publishing business, Penguin Group, has agreed to pay $75 million to settle a dispute in the U.S. over the way it priced electronic books, drawing to a close an investigation into the publishing industry's ebook pricing tactics. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2013-05-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Stephen King said his new novel, 'Joyland,' will be released in paper format only. 'Let people ... go to an actual bookstore,' said King. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-05-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In a move to bump up physical book sales, Stephen King will not release an ebook version of his new novel, "Joyland," the Wall Street Journal reports.In a move to bump up physical book sales, Stephen King will not release an ebook version of his new novel, "Joyland," the Wall Street Journal reports. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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