Pay-back time for publishers: authors forced to return their advances

This week, it emerged that Pride and Prejudice and Zombies author Seth Grahame-Smith was being sued by his publisher to return his advance. From Julian Assange to Amy Schumer, he isn’t alone...Though he’s fallen out spectacularly with his publisher, Seth Grahame-Smith at least has the consolation of joining a stellar club of writers whose deals for much-anticipated books were terminated. It emerged this week that Grahame-Smith, the man behind Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, is being sued in the United States for breach of contract by Hachette, which wants half his $1m advance for a two-book deal returned. Hachette claims the second book’s typescript was eventually submitted “34 months” late, and was too short and substandard, “in large part an appropriation of a 120-year-old public domain work” (unnamed, but presumably 1897’s Dracula).Among Grahame-Smith’s new confrères are the 12 non-fiction authors including Elizabeth Wurtzel sued four years ago by Penguin USA, which sought to recoup the advances plus interest for books it said they had failed to deliver; Withnail And I writer-director Bruce Robinson, whose missed deadlines during his 15-year quest to identify Jack the Ripper meant his original publisher cancelled his contract and asked for its advance back (although he found a new one and They All Love Jack appeared in 2015); and the award-winning novelist and poet Vikram Seth, who was at loggerheads with Penguin after it... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2016-09-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #award-winning novelist #jane austen #$1m advance

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Report: Variety on Block; Publisher says “Nonsense”

Variety was one of just four magazines kept by Reed Elsevier after it sold off more than 60 different properties over the last three years. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-04-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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App Roundup: More Publishers Develop For Droid

With the latest slew of magazine apps launched in the past few weeks comes promising news for publishers in the digital space: publications with an Apple app have seen enough success to try their luck in the Android market. Enter the Droid Apps Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-04-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin to publish slow news title

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 28/04/2011 - 08:00 Viking has been scanning the local papers and choosing the most eyebrow-raising headlines—often for all the wrong reasons—in a tribute to the quirky world of slow news days. Whitstable Mum in Custard Shortage . . And... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Steidl awarded publishing award

Written By: Jenny Roper Publication Date: Thu, 28/04/2011 - 06:55 German publisher Gerhard Steidl has been awarded the inaugural outstanding contribution to publishing award at his year's Kraszna-Krausz Book Awards. Steidl received the prize last night (27th April). He still independently... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Justine Southall appointed publisher of Marie Claire

Justine Southall, previously the publisher of NatMag's Cosmopolitan magazine, has been made publisher of IPC's women's glossy, Marie Claire. Continue reading at Media Week

[ Media Week | 2011-04-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #marie claire #cosmopolitan magazine


Breakaway booksellers back into the fold

The breakaway group of Angus & Robertson franchisees has returned to the negotiating table. Continue reading at The Sydney Morning Herald

[ The Sydney Morning Herald | 2011-04-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ogden Publishing To Integrate Fulfillment with E-mail Marketing

Ogden Publications will be combining their in-house fulfillment database with their e-mail service provider to better market content and consumer products to readers.The blending of Advantage Computing Systems’ fulfillment platform with the iPost iMM digital e-mail marketing technology is... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-04-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Johnson says Waterstone should give up on buying back chain

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 20/04/2011 - 07:54 Former Borders UK owner Luke Johnson has warned Tim Waterstone off trying to buy back Waterstone's. Waterstone is believed to be the sole frontrunner for the bookseller and has teamed up with Russian billionaire Alexander Mamut... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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News.me, the iPad News Aggregator Blessed By Big Publishers, Gets Ready To Launch [MediaMemo]

The 99-cents a week-service looks like the kind of thing that could drive the New York Times and the Associated Press batty. Instead, they've signed on for a piece of the action. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-04-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Genre authors attack "sneering" World Book Night coverage

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 18/04/2011 - 09:19 Authors including Iain M Banks and Michael Moorcock have written to the BBC's director general Mark Thompson, attacking the treatment of genre fiction in its recent World Book Night coverage. In total 85 authors, across the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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London Triptych wins Authors Club prize

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 18/04/2011 - 09:16 The Authors’ Club Best First Novel award has been given to Jonathan Kemp for London Triptych. The book, about sex, exploitation and dependence set against London’s gay underworld was published by Brighton-based indie Myriad... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Social Traffic Worth Less to Publishers Than Search

There’s no question that social media is becoming an increasingly important source of traffic for Web publishers, from articles and videos being shared among friends on Facebook to users following individual reporters on Twitter. But it turns out that social media referrals may be worth less to... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2011-04-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Advocate Chooses DTI's Cloud Publishing Platform to Future-Proof Operations

The Advocate, a Baton Rouge, Louisiana newspaper owned by the Manship family is managing its content publishing infrastructure with DTI ContentPublisher and DTI Cloud. Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2011-04-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mehta hails publishing after lifetime award

Written By: Felicity Wood Publication Date: Wed, 13/04/2011 - 14:00 Sonny Mehta, editor-in-chief of Alfred A Knopf, has said publishing's editorial, marketing and publicity standards would guarantee the sector's relevance, as he was awarded the eighth LBF Lifetime Achievement Award in... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Time Inc. Veteran John Squires Lands at Digital Bookstore [MediaMemo]

Longtime Time Inc. executive John Squires, last seen running the magazine industry's version of Hulu, has a new gig: He's at Akademos, a Connecticut-based company that runs digital bookstores for small and mid-sized colleges. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Campaigners says publishers 'not interested' in library fight

Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Wed, 13/04/2011 - 11:06 Library campaigner Tim Coates called on publishers to get involved in the fight to save public libraries, warning that the 500 currently threatened with closure will be followed by many more without action to protect the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #public libraries #london borough


RHCB acquires YA "Time Traveller's Wife"

Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Wed, 13/04/2011 - 12:00 Random House Children's Books has acquired a "YA novel in the spirit of The Time Traveller's Wife" by Tamara Ireland Stone. Editorial director Kelly Hurst and commissioning editor Lauren Buckland bought UK and Commonwealth... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tynt Offers Tracking Tools for Publishers

A San Francisco-based company called Tynt is determined to allow publishers the opportunity to take full advantage of copy and paste user action. Already used by 600,000 publishers, the company released the Tynt’s Publisher Tools set in early February. The currently free suite of four tools... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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LBF: Change needed, but publishing still vital

Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Tue, 12/04/2011 - 09:29 Profile m.d. Andrew Franklin has dismissed self-publishing as irrelevant in a heated debate on the relevance of publishers. The discussion, held at yesterday's London Book Fair, was between Franklin, Bloomsbury's executive... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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LBF: Territoriality "key" for UK publishers

Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Tue, 12/04/2011 - 09:28 Controlling world English-language rights is key to taking advantage of the global book economy for UK publishers, delegates have been told. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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