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 ]
Former Penguin communications manager Toby Jones has been hired as group marketing and publicity director by Simon & Schuster. Jones, who left Penguin in 2013 to go travelling, will begin at S&S on 1st July and report to chief executive and publisher Ian Chapman. Marketing director... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Quarto Publishing Group UK has made a series of appointments to its sales team, as part of a restructure. John Stefani, previously business development director at Simon & Schuster will take on the role of sales director, while Geraldine McBride, previously trade sales director at Bonnier... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In Madrid, several top ebook distributors meet to discuss mutual challenges in book publishing and the possibility of a common European digital market. The post Ebook Distributors Meet to Discuss Common EU Digital Market appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-06-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster has rushed through a second reprint of The Ugly Game: The Qatari Plot to Buy the World Cup by Heidi Blake and Jonathan Calvert after the Fifa arrests last week, which dominated news headlines around the world. The publisher ordered a 1,500 reprint of the book, only released... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Joe Monti, executive editor for Simon & Schuster’s new Saga imprint for science fiction/fantasy, or SFF, admits that diversity is more than an intellectual exercise. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In The Art of War, Sun Tzu tells us, “In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.” Approaching the publishing market in China, it can be hard to distinguish the opportunities from the chaos. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hachette Book Group and Simon & Schuster this week became the latest Big Five publishers to offer audiobook titles to libraries via Midwest Tape’s nascent Hoopla digital platform. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tom Doherty, president and publisher of Tor Books, worked his way up through the sales force ranks at Simon & Schuster and was mentored by Betty and Ian Ballantine when they launched the first science fiction and fantasy line in the country. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BBC Radio 4’s former commissioning editor Caroline Raphael is to join Penguin Random House UK. Raphael will take on the role of editorial director, audio, reporting to audio publisher Videl Bar-Kar. She will lead Penguin Random House UK’s audio editorial and production team and help grow its... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Gonzales, currently director of integrated marketing at Simon & Schuster, has been been appointed v-p, associate publisher, trade books at Rodale, effective June 15. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Lawyers acting for Author Solutions are due to file new papers with a New York court this week in the latest development in the lawsuit against the assisted publisher. The Penguin Random House-owned company Author Solutions provides a variety of services direct to authors under a series of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A fall in physical book sales led to a decrease in revenue in the first quarter of 2015 for Simon & Schuster. Results released by the publisher’s parent company CBS Corporation were not broken down geographically, but gave publishing revenues for the first three months of this year at... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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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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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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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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