Some well-kept secrets at Penguin Group, most notably the succession plan for its CEO, were put on display late Wednesday with the filing of an age discrimination lawsuit by the book publisher's former longtime head of corporate communications, Marilyn Ducksworth. Her lawyers charge Penguin with dismantling her staff and diminishing her executive responsibilities "in an orchestrated, coordinated effort to force her to leave." In addition, Penguin retaliated when she protested the company's "discriminatory actions against her and other older employees," the complaint said. Ms. Ducksworth, 56, resigned Aug. 31. She had been senior vice president of corporate communications and executive director of publicity of the imprints G.P. Putnam's Sons and Riverhead Books, and associate publisher of Putnam. On Thursday, the suit was a source of much discussion in the closely knit publishing world, where Ms. Ducksworth is widely liked and highly regarded. Age discrimination is also a sensitive topic at publishing houses, insiders say, pointing to the constant pressure to cut costs, which can make high-salaried veterans more likely to be targeted in restructurings. Penguin, a unit of the U.K.-based publishing giant Pearson, disputes the charges. "Marilyn Ducksworth has been a valued Penguin employee for many years," a company spokeswoman said in a statement. "She made the decision to resign and left the company of her own volition on Aug. 31st. We are saddened that she has chosen to... Continue reading at 'Crains New York'
[ Crains New York | 2012-09-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Working with the Booker Prize Foundation, Dua Lipa recently visited HMP Downview, a women’s prison in Surrey, to get a firsthand glimpse of Books Unlocked, a program set up by the BPF and the National Literacy to foster a culture of reading for incarcerated people. Lipa, who recently launched a... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-06-02 14:54:54 UTC ]
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After 10 months of courtship, marketing tech holding company The Brandtech Group wrapped its acquisition of Jellyfish, a digital media and marketing group with global reach that Brandtech didn’t have. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2023-06-01 12:01:00 UTC ]
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Digital media and marketing group Jellyfish has been wholly acquired by The Brandtech Group, driving their combined revenue to more than $1 billion. Jellyfish, which was co-founded in 2005 by chief executive Rob Pierre, currently operates across 38 offices and employs more than 2,000 people. It... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2023-06-01 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Some of us do our best thinking in the shower, others do it while on the toilet. Renee Descartes, he pondered most deeply while ensconced in a baker's oven. The man simply needed to be convinced of the oven's existence before climbing in. Such are the quirks of the most monumental minds humanity... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-05-28 14:30:30 UTC ]
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The celebrated author of Money and London Fields, whose works defined the 80s and 90s literary scene, died of oesophageal cancer on Friday at his home in FloridaMartin Amis, the influential author of era-defining novels including Money and London Fields, and the memoir Experience, has died at... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-05-20 18:53:35 UTC ]
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PEN America and publisher Penguin Random House filed a law suit today against a school district for book bans. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-05-17 16:28:56 UTC ]
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PEN officials called the suit a "first-of-its-kind challenge to unlawful censorship," bringing together concerned parents, authors, and a major publisher. "Censorship, in the form of book bans like those enacted by Escambia County, are a direct threat to democracy and our Constitutional rights,"... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Seemingly overnight, Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, went from cryptocurrency wunderkind to wanted for questioning by the FBI. After years of unfettered success, the walls of SBF's blockchain empire came crumbling down around him as his tricky financial feats failed and his generalized... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-05-14 14:30:33 UTC ]
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The largest trade book publisher in the U.S., now the majority owner of Sourcebooks, has funded the publisher's acquisition of the publishing assets of the once high-flying Callisto Media. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-10 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara’s book, illustrated by Matt Hunt, is the first of the Little People, Big Dreams series to top the standingsA children’s biography of King Charles III has topped the UK book chart before the coronation on 6 May.Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara’s King Charles is part of the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-05-05 09:57:25 UTC ]
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Jack Jensen, who built Chronicle Books into one of the country's largest and most distinctive independent publishers, will transition from president of Chronicle parent company the McEvoy Group to chair of the McEvoy Group advisory board later this month. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-04 04:00:00 UTC ]
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By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) Many notable short stories focus on the rough passage from childhood to adulthood. Of course, the transition from ‘child’ to ‘adult’ does not happen overnight, and is not the result of a single epiphany of crucial moment, but writers of short fiction... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2023-05-01 17:00:31 UTC ]
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HBG CEO Michael Pietsch attributed the 11% decline to a strong first quarter in 2022, plus “a generally softer market, especially for hardcovers.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-04-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The newest of four yearly reports from Hachette Book Group sees staff BIPOC diversity increasing by 2.5 percent in 2022. The post Hachette Book Group: BIPOC Diversity at 36.4 Percent appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-04-11 14:35:23 UTC ]
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Pollack, who created the first mainstream transgender superhero, Kate Godwin, had been fighting Hodgkin’s lymphomaRachel Pollack, award-winning author, leading authority on tarot and the occult, trans activist and comic-book writer who created the first mainstream transgender superhero, has died... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-04-08 10:45:56 UTC ]
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"Birds fly South for the winter and North for the summer," has historically proven to be only slightly less reliable a maxim than the sun always rising in the East and setting in the West. Humanity has been fascinated by the comings and goings of our avian neighbors for millennia, but the why's... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-04-02 14:30:53 UTC ]
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As April rolls around and scattered showers might keep us indoors (or nudge us to a sheltered spot outdoors), it’s a great time to revisit the books we had been meaning to read. Whether you choose to read indoors or out—and I support both—a list of some intriguing books that will be released in... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-03-31 11:47:44 UTC ]
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Despite a decline in sales, cost controls and a rebound in its custom publishing operation led to a 67% jump in profits for Quarto Group in 2022. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-03-31 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Sales at Penguin Random House rose nearly 5% in 2022, but rising costs resulted in an 11.8% decline in earnings, which dropped to €666 million. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-03-30 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Nielsen and rivals are challenged by homes that only stream to mobile devices, which are growing fast but not included in big data sets. Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2023-03-27 14:00:00 UTC ]
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