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 ]
First-quarter reports from three of the largest U.S. trade houses gave mixed messages about the state of book publishing at the start of 2015. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers in the US including Hachette Book Group, Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster are making $250m (£163m) in free ebooks available to low-income students as part of a scheme announced today (30th April) by President Obama. The new ebook commitments, to cover a three-year... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Playster, a digital multimedia streaming platform, will now sell ebooks from Simon & Schuster on a subscription basis. The post Playster Streaming Service to Offer Simon & Schuster Ebooks appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-04-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Novelist Alice Peterson has moved from Quercus to Simon & Schuster in a six-figure deal. S&S publishing director Jo Dickinson bought world rights to two novels from The Agency Group’s Diana Beaumont, in the latter’s first deal since joining the company from the Rupert Heath Literary Agency. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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James Horobin, previously group sales, marketing and publicity director at Simon & Schuster, is to join the recently launched Bonnier Publishing Fiction division as executive director with responsibility for sales and marketing. Horobin, who left S&S last month, will take up his new... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tasker, who has held positions at Simon & Schuster and Scholastic, most recently served as v-p, product development at Disney Publishing Worldwide. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-04-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon started mending its tattered relationship with the big five publishers last year, signing deals with Macmillan, Simon & Schuster and even Hachette. Now it's HarperCollins' turn to make peace with the e-commerce giant, according to The Wall Str... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2015-04-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Thought Catalog, long the go-to platform for navel-gazing 20-somethings, is digging into e-commerce. Shop Catalog, its parent company's new experimental shopping site, is using the product recommendation as a form of self-expression, which it hopes will keep readers coming back and, hopefully,... Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2015-04-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster has promoted Gill Richardson to the role of sales director, as Elv Moody steps down from the position of editorial director of children's fiction. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Oyster has launched an online ebook store in the US. The subscription company, which started out in September 2013 charging $9.95 a month for unlimited ebooks, has now expanded into online retail, launching an ebook store where customers can pay for individual titles. While only S&S,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The backstory of Steven Rowley’s new nearly seven-figure book deal with Simon & Schuster is the stuff of publishing fairy tales. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-04-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster will publish a book by William Sitwell on how Lord Woolton kept Britain fed during the Second World War. Non-fiction publishing director Iain MacGregor acquired world rights for Eggs or Anarchy in a deal with Caroline Michel at PFD. The book looks at Woolton's time as the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster will publish a novel inspired by the true story of Simon, the ship cat on HMS Amethyst, written by Lynne Barrett-Lee. Assistant editor Carla Josephson made her first acquisition buying World rights to Able Seacat Simon from Andrew Lownie at the Andrew Lownie Literary Agency. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-03-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster UK is to publish the new novel by Isabel Allende, as well as four backlist titles by the author. Fiction editorial director Rowan Cope acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Simon & Schuster US division Atria, where v.p. and executive editor Johanna Castillo acquired... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-03-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster’s group sales, marketing and publicity director James Horobin is to leave the company at the end of this week. The publisher said Horobin, who joined the company in 2010, intended to “seek challenges in his career outside of Simon & Schuster.” His departure is the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-03-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Campaigns promoting humorous safety tips for children, a book by astronaut Chris Hadfield and a guide to getting the style and attitude of Parisian women won big at the Book Marketing Society’s Best Campaign meeting for the Christmas season. The meeting was held at Simon & Schuster’s... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins Children’s Books has hired Nia Roberts as art director, where she will be responsible for the cross portfolio design strategy. She will also develop the picture book list. Roberts is currently art director at Simon & Schuster where she has worked with authors and illustrators... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster will be reprinting 10,000 copies of revered 'New York Times' critic and columnist David Carr's 2008 memoir following his death last week. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-02-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After 50 years in book publishing, Ted Heinecken, who started his career in 1963 as a Midwest sales rep for Oxford University Press, will retire from Fuji Associates on February 28. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-02-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Newspaper revenue in the UK, the US and Australia is down despite a rise in the company’s overall revenue thanks to book publishing and real estate divisionsDeclining sales, advertising and subscriptions hurt revenues at Rupert Murdoch’s newspaper business in the final quarter of last year, News... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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