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 ]
In days of yore—that is, my childhood in the paper-mill town of Mexico, Maine—a labor strike looked like an ugly affair. Picketing men in steel-toed boots screamed themselves hoarse at every shift change, their righteous anger rising into a sky thick with the sulfurous clouds of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-11-23 16:38:06 UTC ]
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The recent explosion in content has created the need not only for more sophisticated tools to manage it, but better ways to attach data and analytics to the content in order to better optimize it at the right time for the right opportunity. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2022-11-22 05:01:00 UTC ]
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Penguin owner Bertelsmann will not appeal US judge’s ruling that merger would be illegal because it would hit authors’ payPenguin Random House, the world’s largest book publisher, and rival Simon & Schuster have scrapped a $2.2bn deal to merge, Penguin’s owner said in a statement on... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-11-21 22:41:38 UTC ]
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Her store, Art Catalogues, specialized in books for and about museum and gallery exhibitions and became a gathering place for artists and bibliophiles. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-11-20 21:18:47 UTC ]
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The National Books Awards returned in full force on November 16, 2022 for a night of in-person glitz after two years of virtual ceremonies. In front of white tents where the literati gathered for photos on the red carpet, publishing workers with the HarperCollins Union, standing in the cold,... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2022-11-18 12:06:00 UTC ]
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The HarperCollins Union's demands are for better pay, diversity initiatives, and more security for unionized workers. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-11-17 17:29:17 UTC ]
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To further capitalise on the popularity of BookTok the social media giant will let users purchase titles through partnerships with publishers and retailersTikTok has proved to be a hugely successful way to promote books in recent years, with publishers attributing the popularity of books such as... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-11-17 16:49:24 UTC ]
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In a star-studded night that celebrated more than 40 publishing professionals, Tordotcom Publishing editor Ruoxi Chen walked away with the top prize and used her moment to call attention to the HarperCollins union strike. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-11-16 05:00:00 UTC ]
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TikTok’s book reviewing community is here to stay, having even received publishing awards for innovation, but issues of authenticity and safety aboundBookTok, the nickname for TikTok videos in which books are discussed, analysed, cried about and turned into “aesthetic” moodboards, began as a... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-11-15 17:10:25 UTC ]
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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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