The failure of a recent bid to merge two large publishing companies shines a light on a central issue of cultural powerDespite a rise in self-publishing, commercial publishers are still the main gatekeepers of what arrives on our bookshelves. As such, they have great cultural and – if a book takes off – economic power. A case decided in a US court this week provided an insight into just how much of that power is now concentrated in a small handful of multinational companies.At issue was a planned merger of Simon & Schuster with Penguin Random House (PRH) – two of the so-called big five, which between them control 90% of the US publishing market, a fact not always obvious to the casual observer, as books usually carry on their spines the names of imprints, or subdivisions, of the parent company. PRH, itself the result of a mega-merger in 2013, runs about 300 imprints. Given the reach of these companies – PRH is active in more than 20 countries – the Department of Justice’s successful argument that the planned $2.2bn deal would “exert outsized influence over which books are published in the United States and how much authors are paid for their work” applies globally. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2022-11-04 18:25:28 UTC ]
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Why does HarperCollins need a VP of Innovation? Ana Maria Allessi, who holds that very title, tells us about a future in which books look a lot like apps. Ana Maria Allessi is somewhat of an oddity, for someone who’s worked at a publishing house for almost 13 years. While publishing is rife... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-06-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Conventional wisdom says that entrepreneurs who start a Web-based business will do so with VC money. Read enough stories of Internet ventures that enjoy lucrative exits in the millions (in some cases billions) of dollars, and it’s easy to assume that the only path to success is to begin by... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2013-06-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins Childrens Books fiction publishing director Ruth Alltimes has bought a posthumous... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-06-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Further offers have been unveiled by publishers to help independent bookshops boost their... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-06-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Publishing announces that the Hangman's Daughter series is their first million seller. Is it a cause for concern? Celebration? Or merely surprise that it took this long? Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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British-based publishers topped the world’s global publishing rankings in 2012, making up... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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News Corp. (NWSA)’s publishing spinoff began trading today at a market value of about $9.1 billion, one-seventh the size of the entertainment side of the media empire, underscoring the business’s growth challenges. The &ldqu ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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To listen to the Audio Book Club discussion of Tenth of December, click the arrow on the player below. Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2013-06-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Through First to Read, members will have the chance to get advance reading copies of Penguin Books before they are published. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-06-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sally Gardner, a dyslexic author once branded "unteachable" at school, wins the prestigious Carnegie Medal for her book Maggot Moon. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2013-06-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sales of books jumped to a 2013 high last week, boosted by Father's Day, according to figures obtained by the book trade website, The Bookseller. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2013-06-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The next ebook you buy might not exactly match the printed version. And those changes are there to make sure you're not a pirate. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2013-06-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple didn't try to fix or raise the prices of electronic books when it entered into the market in 2010, according to Apple Senior Vice President Eddy Cue. Rather, he says, the company was only working to ensure a profit for itself."We're not willing to lose money in any business," Cue told the... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2013-06-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Joshua Tallent, well-known ebook expert and founder of Ebook Architects, shares his views on current issues in digital publishing and ebook development. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-06-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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“They had a relationship that was not positive. You heard a lot of negative things from them.” – Apple media boss Eddy Cue, testifying during the DOJ antitrust trial Monday, describing the way book publishers viewed Amazon, circa 2009 Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2013-06-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Craig Chappelow has written about how leaders can be more successful. But he'd crack One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest before the latest business book any day. Here's why he thinks you should, too. Read any good leadership books lately? Me either. It seems like popular books about leadership... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-06-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A blow-by-blow account of how Apple and five of America's six largest publishers ended up on the wrong end of price-fixing allegations by the Department of Justice, from PW senior writer Andrew Richard Albanese. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-06-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple Inc. (AAPL) executive Eddy Cue told a judge he felt extra pressure to reach deals with ebook publishers in time for the introduction of the iPad in 2010 because of company cofounder Steve Jobs’s precarious health. “Steve ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-06-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Daily Mail's consultant literary editor Jane Mays has predicted that reviewing... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-06-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Shadow culture secretary Harriet Harman has called a debate on the future of the arts and... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-06-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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