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 ]
Written By: Charlotte Williams and Philip Stone Publication Date: Fri, 08/07/2011 - 09:55 Print sales across the book market have dropped by 3% in the first six months of 2011, compared to the same period last year, with Jamie Oliver the bestselling author over the period, ahead of Julia... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 08/07/2011 - 08:40 Will Sulkin will be retiring from his role as publishing director of The Bodley Head in April 2012, with Stuart Williams, editorial director at Harvill Secker, to step into the position. Sulkin's retirement in 2012 will... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Arts editor Will Gompertz's second report into the impact of technology on the publishing industry Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2011-06-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 17/06/2011 - 10:55 Hodder & Stoughton has acquired an eighth title in the Dark Tower series by Stephen King, which has Roland Deschain of Gilead as its lead character. The Wind Through the Keyhole will be published worldwide in spring... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 10/06/2011 - 10:44 BBC Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen is to write a book on the recent uprisings in the Middle East for publication in autumn 2012 by Simon & Schuster. Editorial director Mike Jones bought UK and Commonwealth rights excluding... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 03/06/2011 - 09:58 Hodder & Stoughton has signed a three-book deal with thriller writer Tom Harper, marking the author's move from Random House's Cornerstone. Associate publisher Oliver Johnson signed the deal for world rights through... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 02/06/2011 - 13:02 Google, American publishers and the US Authors Guild have been given until next month to revise a book-scanning agreement for out of print titles and orphan works. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 26/05/2011 - 08:47 Random House Digital director Fionnuala Duggan is to leave the publisher for digital learning company CourseSmart, where she has been appointed managing director for international. The California-based company, which provides... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Mon, 23/05/2011 - 09:40 The takeover of Waterstone's by Alexander Mamut is cause for celebration among the publishing industry, Faber c.e.o. Stephen Page has said. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 16/05/2011 - 09:06 The Bodley Head has acquired a title looking at the operation that searched for, and finally killed, Osama bin Laden, by al-Qaeda expert Peter Bergen. Publishing director Will Sulkin acquired UK and Commonwealth rights to... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The editor Robert Loomis, who is retiring from Random House after 54 years, is known for nurturing writers including Maya Angelou, William Styron, Shelby Foote and Calvin Trillin. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2011-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 09/05/2011 - 08:51 Random House is publishing its first "instant ebook exclusive" with William Heinemann's rapid response to the death of Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. Beyond Bin Laden: The Future of Terror will be published tomorrow... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In starting Bookish.com, Simon & Schuster, Penguin Group USA and Hachette Book Group hope to provide one-stop shopping for books and information about authors. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2011-05-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Three big publishers and AOL are set to launch Bookish, a "new digital platform for readers". Hachette Book Group, Penguin Group, and CBS' Simon & Schuster are backing the new site, which is supposed to launch this summer; AOL will promote the property and handle ad sales. A press release... Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2011-05-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A $5 million lawsuit against Simon & Schuster over a book by former President Jimmy Carter was dropped by the plaintiffs on Thursday, three months after it was filed. The plaintiffs in the class-action suit had argued that Mr. Carter's "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid," about the Arab-Israeli... Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2011-05-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Thu, 05/05/2011 - 15:40 Bertelsmann has acquired digital media agency Smashing Ideas, with the aim of beefing up Random House Inc's digital offerings. The terms of the acquisition were not made public. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Random House has acquired Smashing Ideas, a digital media agency, in an effort to strengthen its digital publishing side, the publisher said on Thursday. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2011-05-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 04/05/2011 - 09:30 Digital sales were worth 18% of Simon & Schuster's total global sales in its first quarter as its revenues increased 2% to $155m. Digital revenue more than doubled to $27.9m (£16.9m) from the first quarter in 2010, with... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Barnes & Nobles advertising campaign for the Nook Color, an e-reading tablet, features no company stores in the ads, a nod to changes in the publishing industry. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2011-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 21/04/2011 - 07:40 Hodder is rolling out a new backlist look for one of its supernatural and thriller stars, Stephen King. The publisher will be re-issuing his backlist, including titles written by his alter-ego, Richard Bachman. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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