The Guardian view on the book publishing industry: no one size fits all | Editorial

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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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster Second Quarter Sales Rise 12%

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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S&S Launches Video Series

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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S&S Children's speeds into loom band craze

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[ The Bookseller | 2014-08-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Distribution: Regan Arts Signs with S&S

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple agrees to pay $450m settlement in ebook price fixing case

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[ The Guardian | 2014-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors on the Air July 15, 2014: Hillary Rodham Clinton

Hillary Rodham Clinton, author of "Hard Choices" (Simon & Schuster, 9781476751443), will appear on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" on Tuesday, July 15. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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S&S, West Point Collaborate for New Series

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers Claim Apple Order Illegally Hobbles Return to Agency Model

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Steamy One Direction Fan-Fic Snags Six Figure Advance from S&S

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-06-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Obituary: Helene Green

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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S&S buys three from Luca Veste

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[ The Bookseller | 2014-06-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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S&S Adds InkedIn to Author Portal

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DeMille Moves to S&S In Major Deal

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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One Direction fanfic author inks worldwide book deal

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