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 appointment of Penguin General m.d. Joanna Prior to run Pan Macmillan after its current c.e.o. Anthony Forbes Watson leaves that role is a big moment, and also a timely one. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-08 07:18:06 UTC ]
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The New Futures Initiative - launched at the end of September and announced in The Bookseller - is a scheme to reach out to individuals from underrepresented groups and encourage them - through mentoring and tangible support - to open a bricks and mortar bookshop. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-07 16:15:45 UTC ]
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HarperCollins Children’s Books has scooped a "stunning" new magical-historical middle-grade series by debut writer Natasha Hastings. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-05 17:08:13 UTC ]
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Bloomsbury has pre-empted Dublin-based screenwriter Senta Rich’s debut novel Hotel 21 in a two-book deal. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-05 16:04:10 UTC ]
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While exhibitor and visitor numbers are expected to be well down on pre-pandemic figures, a number of trade professionals have indicated to The Bookseller that they will return to the Frankfurt Book Fair. But what will the new hybrid fair look like? Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-01 09:11:26 UTC ]
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A major move for women in leadership in the English-language book publishing markets, Prior moves from Penguin Random House UK to helm Pan Macmillan in London. The post Joanna Prior Succeeds Anthony Forbes Watson as Pan Macmillan CEO appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-09-30 13:15:15 UTC ]
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Penguin General m.d. Joanna Prior has been named the new c.e.o. of Pan Macmillan UK, with Anthony Forbes Watson to step down from the role early next year. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-30 08:34:06 UTC ]
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Pan Macmillan has hailed the success of its bookseller mentorship pilot scheme, which has now come to an end after 14 weeks. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-28 15:20:46 UTC ]
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Shah Muhammad Rais, who was made famous in The Bookseller of Kabul, has vowed to keep his bookshop open, despite having had only two customers since the Taliban retook the country in the middle of August. Founded in 1974 Rais’s store has seen regimes (along with foreign powers) come and go, and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-09-28 15:00:23 UTC ]
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The New Atlantic and Southern Independent Booksellers Associations (NAIBA and SIBA) kicked off a combined virtual fall conference on September 27, marking the second year in a row that the two organizations have joined forces to offer educational programming, author readings, and editor buzz picks. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-09-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
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'Publishers tried, but it really didn't work,' says one Paris bookseller about the question of pandemic-related books this year. The post France’s Rentrée Littéraire: Books About COVID? Not Interested appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-09-27 11:31:21 UTC ]
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Debut novelist Leila Mottley and Orange Bakery founders Kitty and Al Tait are among the authors set to dazzle at Bloomsbury next spring. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-23 01:00:19 UTC ]
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Bloomsbury has completed the acquisition of certain assets of Artfilms, the video streaming service of Contemporary Arts Media, as it expands its digital resources portfolio. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-22 17:59:05 UTC ]
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Piers Morgan will be presenting a nightly talkshow in this new venture aimed at outflanking the ailing GB NewsThe human Marmite of British journalism, Piers Morgan, is about to be spread very thinly. He has signed a global commentary deal with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. A nightly talkshow will... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-09-19 17:07:41 UTC ]
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During the Roaring '20s just about everybody was convinced that dirigibles were not just the future of luxury travel but that these lumbering airships could also serve as platforms for scientific exploration and adventure. Why slog through malaria-infested jungles, parched deserts and frozen... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2021-09-18 15:30:21 UTC ]
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Quercus has rebranded with a new logo to reflect its “independence, dynamism, warmth, creativity and ambition”, celebrating the move by visiting 85 bookshops across the UK. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-15 22:54:54 UTC ]
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As part of the integration of the former HMH trade divisions, the new organization will place the bulk of the adult properties in the William Morrow group under Liate Stehlik, while the two children’s imprints, as well as HarperCollins Productions, will become part of HarperCollins Children’s... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-09-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Pan Macmillan has snapped up two books from debut author and former family lawyer Nora Murphy. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-12 17:22:46 UTC ]
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With its first two titles issued last week and a further four to come in 2021, Conor Nagle explains how HarperCollins Ireland is harnessing the power of a big list alongside some indie sensibilities. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-10 00:00:19 UTC ]
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Journalist Stig Abell has signed a three-book deal with HarperCollins, including his crime fiction debut and one non-fiction title. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-07 18:18:52 UTC ]
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