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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A complaint about books by the BBC's Simon Mayo and Mark Easton getting undue prominence on Richard Bacon's 5 live show is not upheld by the BBC Trust. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2013-04-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl has returned to the summit of the Official UK Top 50 after a week... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-04-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins and Quercus have become the latest publishers to sign the Publishing Equalities... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-04-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The BBC's business editor Robert Peston describes how transcribing his late wife's final book helped him cope with grief following her death from lung cancer. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2013-04-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Faber is to publish an account of being held hostage by Somali pirates written by Judith Tebbutt... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-04-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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World Book Night is launching a monthly book club, offering reading recommendation to its... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-04-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Margaret Mahy could be posthumously honoured this year with an award now named after her. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2013-04-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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“The store is my crack,” says Richard Howorth, co-owner of 34-year-old Square Books in Oxford, Miss., and former president of the American Booksellers Association. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Looking to provide info to retailers, librarians, and consumers interested in its book-format comics, DC Comics is publishing the DC Entertainment Essential Graphic Novels and Chronology 2013, a 121-page reading guide and index to the publisher’s extensive backlist of collected and original... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The devout of all faiths adore their books. They mark their most cherished passages and pass them on to the next generation. Can the same ever be said for a digital edition? Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-04-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Association of Online Publishers has launched a new initiative with 16 leading media owners, to demonstrate the value of premium mobile advertising, with a view to standardising formats. Continue reading at Media Week
[ Media Week | 2013-04-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Children’s publishers’ much-discussed search for middle-grade hits is starting to hot... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The longlist for the sixth Desmond Elliott Prize, which honours the best in debut fiction, is unveiled, with seven of the 10 novels by women. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2013-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Self publishing might be hot now, but under the Soviets in 1992, writer Andrei Kurkov had no other choice. He discusses what he learned and why surrealism suits Russian writers. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-04-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With a global television network operation in place, Bloomberg News is using video clips from its shows as well as Web-only videos to produce some 200 clips per day, signaling a new "digital first" approach, says Chris Berend ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-04-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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World Book Night gives away 500,000 print books. Wouldn't it make good sense to extend the promotion by offering free ebooks as well? Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-04-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Julia Kingsford, chief executive of World Book Night, reported that the promotion was carried out... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-04-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bloomsbury has created an ebook to mark of the 150th edition of the Wisden Cricketers'... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-04-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A German court has ruled that digital books cannot be resold by purchasers. The German District... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-04-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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