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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Exclusive Reseller Agreement Between Newspaper Data Exchange and The Audit Bureau of Circulations

CHESTERFIELD, MO, February 22, 2012 – Newspaper Data Exchange (NDX), innovators in media data aggregation in the publishing industry, will now have an exclusive license to enroll new affiliate members for the Audit Bureau of Circulations (A ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-02-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Stephen King to release audio digital story

Hodder & Stoughton will publish an original audio digital short story by bestselling author... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Profits Rise Again at Simon & Schuster

Since ebooks first became a meaningful part of a publisher’s business in 2009, results at Simon & Schuster have followed a familiar pattern—a decline in revenue but an increase in earnings. Between 2009 and 2011, total sales at S&S dipped 0.7%, but adjusted operating income has jumped... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ebook Publishers Want Library Borrowing to Be Difficult

Penguin drops over-the-air downloads; now only Random House gives libraries unrestricted access to purchase and loan ebooks. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2012-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon's Kindle Ice Queen Is Back, Now With a Couple of Kids

After seeing Samsung's spirited swing at Apple users, Amazon's continuing anti-Apple pandering just feels weak. The new ad for the Kindle Fire pits a dorky, single iPad user against a Kindle-reading mom in a bikini—the same ice queen from the 2010 spot, though now she's warmed up a bit and seems... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2012-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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S&S buys two more from Benjamin Wood

Simon & Schuster has signed another two as-yet-untitled novels by The Bellwether Revivals... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Marmion Launches Marketing Firm

Bridget Marmion, who has had long tenures in sales and marketing at FSG, Random House and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, has started her own firm, Your Expert Nation. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-02-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Trade shadowing scheme picks up pace

Random House, Canongate and Macmillan Children’s Books are the latest publishers to send... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Digital-only short story trails Fforde novel

Random House has released the first direct-to-digital fiction title by bestselling author Katie... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Barnes & Noble, Taking On Amazon in the Fight of Its Life

As Barnes & Noble fights for its future, the publishing industry is holding its breath. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2012-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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S&S pre-empts Typhoid Mary title

Simon & Schuster has pre-empted a historical novel about Typhoid Mary for a six-figure sum.... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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S&S buys three novels from 'global' Desai

Simon & Schuster is to publish two new novels by Kishwar Desai, along with a re-release of... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Random House Group UK to tout authors as speakers

Random House is diversifying into author management with the launch of an international speakers... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Magazines and Newspapers Need to Build Better Apps

While it is still early in the migration process, Apple's iPad and other tablets appear to be a very good thing for the publishing industry, allowing publishers to monetize their content while avoiding the printing and distribution costs associat ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hey joins S&S as senior commissioning editor

Simon & Schuster has appointed Claire Hey as senior commissioning editor for fiction,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Two from Caddle for Simon & Schuster

Simon & Schuster has signed a two-book deal with Always On My Mind author Colette Caddle. S... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Savannah Book Festival Comes Of Age

At just five years old, the Savannah Book Festival, in the genteel coastal city of Savannah, Ga., is carving a space for itself among the book festival big leagues, boasting not one but two of the nation’s current #1 bestselling authors: Stephen King (for 11/22/63) and Walter Isaacson (Steve Jobs). Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-12-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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S&S' Reidy: Digital could 'reshape international business'

E-books are expected to account for 17% of Simon & Schuster's total revenue in 2011,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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More Nigella ebooks for RH

Random House has released two more Nigella Lawson cookbooks as ebooks today (20th December),... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Amazon Workaround

Fear that Amazon will come to dominate the bookselling market is nothing new in the publishing industry. But last week, as booksellers continued to decry the company’s price check app (which could be used to access prices on booksellers’ sideline items, like toys and DVDs) and as information... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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