People want stories and that means cultivating a publishing ecosystem where big and small can flourishThis week both the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority and the Department of Justice in the US announced investigations into the planned $2.2bn acquisition of the publisher Simon & Schuster by Bertelsmann, which already owns Penguin Random House. The merger, if allowed, would see Bertelsmann have almost one-third of English-language book sales. The move follows a year when a population cocooned at home, reaching for comfort reading, inflated the profits of big publishers. Bloomsbury and Pan Macmillan recently announced that they would be returning furlough payments; HarperCollins did not take them.Many of the UK’s smaller publishers fared rather differently: a Bookseller survey last summer found 60% feared they would cease to exist by autumn. Indies tend not to have the backlists full of household names that, say, a Penguin has; they depend far more on serendipity, on a customer wandering into a shop intending to buy one thing but coming out with something else as well. This happens far less with online shopping; at least one publisher lost up to 90% in sales. Some also found it difficult to qualify for furlough. They took to social media to announce their plight, or to try new selling tactics; some crowdfunded; some received emergency Arts Council England cash. Many were dragged back from the brink, for which we should be grateful. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2021-03-28 17:25:47 UTC ]
The new arrangment for Usborne's children's books sees HarperCollins taking over trade back-office functions by February 1. The post England’s Usborne and HarperCollins Announce American Distribution Deal appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-11-14 21:10:20 UTC ]
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As you may have seen on Book Twitter today, the unionized workers of HarperCollins are striking to secure a fair contract, livable wages, and a more equitable publishing industry. Some 250 employees—across the editorial, publicity, sales, marketing, legal and design departments—agreed to go on... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-11-10 19:23:57 UTC ]
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Workers at the only ‘big four’ publisher to have a union authorize indefinite strike over low wages and diversityStephanie Guerdan started working in the children’s book department of HarperCollins Publishers six years ago. It was a dream job – just not a dream paycheck. The $33,500-a-year... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-11-10 18:03:45 UTC ]
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A representative for unionized employees called negotiations with the publisher 'disheartening,' and said that there are no bargaining sessions planned after latest proposal rejection. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-11-09 05:00:00 UTC ]
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General Motors has been in business for more than a century, but in its 112 years, the company has never faced such challenges as it does in today's rapidly electrifying and automating industry. The assembly line jobs from Detroit's heyday have been replaced by legions of automated industrial... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2022-10-23 14:30:06 UTC ]
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In-person regional bookseller conferences came roaring back to life this fall with six high-energy shows. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-10-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Literary Hub is pleased to reveal the cover for Stephen Buoro’s debut novel The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa, which will be published by Bloomsbury in April 2023. Here’s how the publisher describes the novel: Andrew Aziza is a fifteen-year-old boy living in Kontagora in Northern... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-10-19 13:30:34 UTC ]
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The unionized employees of HarperCollins voted to authorize a strike on Monday, November 7, after the two parties failed to reach an agreement after months of negotiations. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-10-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Faced with slowing industry sales and rising costs, HarperCollins has eliminated what it called a "small number" of positions, and instituted a number of other measures in a bid to "operate as efficiently as possible," CEO Brian Murray announced to employees on October 13. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-10-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Author Alex George, the owner of Skylark Bookshop in Columbia, Mo., was named Midwest Bookseller of the Year by the Midwest Indie Booksellers Association. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-10-05 04:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins has acquired Maine independent publisher Cider Mill Press. Cider Mill will become part of the HarperCollins Focus group. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-10-04 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association's annual gathering in Denver, renowned for being a high energy show, was an especially exuberant affair this year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-10-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
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‘She saw and felt things us ordinary mortals missed,’ her agent says of Booker prize-winning author who died on Thursday• Hilary Mantel remembered: ‘She was the queen of literature’• ‘The pen is in our hands. A happy ending is ours to write’: Hilary Mantel in her own wordsThe Booker... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-09-23 11:29:23 UTC ]
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I’d begged my way into this job in the hopes that it might lead me closer to a literary life. And it would. Eventually. The post Shelve This In Memoir: Confessions of a Teenage Bookseller appeared first on The Millions. Continue reading at The Millions
[ The Millions | 2022-09-05 10:00:28 UTC ]
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Lethal Tides tells the story of pioneering oceanic researcher Mary Sears and her leading role in creating one of the most important intelligence gathering operations of World War II. Languishing in academic obscurity and roundly ignored by her male colleagues, Sears is selected for command by... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2022-09-04 15:00:53 UTC ]
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High inflation and supply chain challenges combined to drop earnings at Penguin Random House 20.7% in the first half of 2022 compared to a year ago. Revenue rose 6.2%, to €1.92 billion, but even there the news was disappointing with parent company Bertelsmann noting that excluding the favorable... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-08-31 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Abby West has been named v-p and editorial director at Amistad, with promotions for Tara Parsons and Laina Adler to v-p and deputy publisher of their respective imprints. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-08-30 04:00:00 UTC ]
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This season’s regional shows mark the first time that many booksellers have been able to get together in person since the start of the pandemic. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-08-26 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Large houses and small presses discuss the need for face-to-face fall bookseller gatherings. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-08-26 04:00:00 UTC ]
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In the absence of in-person regional trade shows and conferences the past few years, two Midwestern booksellers who craved connection began organizing in-person bookseller gatherings on their own. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-08-26 04:00:00 UTC ]
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