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 ]
With all of its operating groups reporting sales gains, revenue and profits hit record levels in 2022 at Simon & Schuster. CEO Jonathan Karp called the year "stratospheric." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-02-16 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Months after a federal court ruling blocked the Penguin Random House deal, the publisher Simon & Schuster is once again up for sale. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-02-14 17:17:54 UTC ]
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The decision to suspend the publisher's editorial and educational arms will "consolidate our efforts around our book publishing program," the publisher said in a statement. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-02-14 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House Audio has acquired Playaway Products, a producer of physical audio players and tablets preloaded with content. Launched in 2005 and based in Solon, Ohio, the company offers 36,000 titles and works with some 40,000 libraries and institutions. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-02-02 05:00:00 UTC ]
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About three weeks after Gina Centrello retired as president and publisher of the Random House Publishing Group, McIntosh announced that she will step down as CEO of Penguin Random House in the very near future. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Phenomenal Media, a company launched by Kamala Harris’ niece that celebrates underrepresented women, is debuting a new partnership with Hachette Books. In 2016, Meena Harris started designing statement t-shirts that quite literally made a statement. Her most famous one read “Phenomenal Woman,”... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2023-01-24 08:00:00 UTC ]
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The Lying Life of Adults, Dune: Part Two, The Color Purple, and more of the literary film and TV premiering in 2023. | Lit Hub Film & TV “Professional relationships as close and supportive as that between Caro and Gottlieb have always been rare, in book publishing as everywhere else, and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-01-13 11:30:29 UTC ]
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The Hollywood talent agency is further expanding its presence in book publishing with the acquisition of the independent literary agency Fletcher & Co. After buying U.K.-based agency Curtis Brown in June 2022, the acquisition will see UTA add 12 full-time staffers to its publishing division. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-01-04 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Fluctuating return-to-work policies, supply chain issues, and shifts in consumer spending were some of the ongoing issues publishing faced in 2022. And then there was the fallout from the decision by Judge Florence Pan that blocked Penguin Random House's purchase of Simon & Schuster. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-22 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Looking for a few more good reads before the new year? Here are some recommendations from the ‘Fast Company’ team. While 2021 was a banner year in book publishing, 2022 had its own remarkable moments. Travel book sales started bouncing back as people made vacation plans again, romance reached a... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2022-12-18 05:00:00 UTC ]
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A 19% increase in Scholastic's children's book publishing and distribution segment drove total sales up 12% in the second quarter, while operating income rose 20%. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-16 05:00:00 UTC ]
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In September, Florence Pan was confirmed as the newest judge on the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. But before she could assume that new position, she became known in publishing circles as the judge who presided over the U.S. v. Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGAA... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-16 05:00:00 UTC ]
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A filmmaker has accused Canadian writer Leah McLaren of sexual assault, saying that Penguin Random House Canada knowingly published a memoir by McLaren that depicts the alleged incident as consensual. Continue reading at CBC
[ CBC | 2022-12-09 19:13:28 UTC ]
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The chief executive of the largest publisher in the U.S., Penguin Random House, has stepped down. Markus Dohle oversaw the attempted acquisition of Simon & Schuster. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-12-09 14:47:10 UTC ]
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The CEO of Penguin Random House, the world’s largest trade publisher, is stepping down Continue reading at ABC News
[ ABC News | 2022-12-09 13:58:45 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House CEO Markus Dohle has relinquished his position at the head of the publisher, “at his own request and on the best of mutual terms,” just weeks after a federal judge blocked the publisher’s attempt to acquire rival Big Five publisher Simon & Schuster. PRH president and... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-09 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Film-maker Zoe Greenberg says she raised concerns with Penguin Random House Canada over Leah McLaren’s bookA Canadian film-maker who was allegedly sexually assaulted as a teenager has accused the country’s largest book publisher of knowingly releasing a memoir by one of her alleged assailants... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-12-08 14:58:26 UTC ]
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At a UBS media conference earlier this week, Bob Bakish, CEO of Simon & Schuster parent company Paramount Global, said that with the sale to Penguin Random House now dead, the company still plans to divest the publisher, though he didn’t say how or when. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-07 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Audio production company Audio Up Media and book publishing house Harlequin Enterprises are teaming up to adapt 52 of the publisher's romance titles into scripted podcast series, with an eye to also turn these into--more highly monetizable--TV series. Audio Up, also home to mental health and... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2022-12-06 12:42:46 UTC ]
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In a report designed to measure the economic impact of NYC's various publishing segments, the first-of-its-kind study found that the number of book publishing jobs dipped 1.7% between 2010 and 2020, while bookselling jobs tumbled 37.1%. The average book publishing salary was $119,000, compared... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-01 05:00:00 UTC ]
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