The Guardian view on the writing business: readers must ultimately benefit | Editorial

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 ]

Other news stories related to: "The Guardian view on the writing business: readers must ultimately benefit | Editorial"


Bertelsmann buys £430m stake in Afya

Bertelsmann is expanding its footprint in Brazil’s fast-growing education market, buying a major stake in medical company Afya.   Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-08 11:31:52 UTC ]
More news stories like this


HCCB signs children's series from Slay in Your Lane authors Adegoke and Uviebinené

HarperCollins Children's Books has signed a new middle-grade fiction series from Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené, the authors of Slay in Your Lane (HarperCollins).  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-08 04:03:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Griffiths made bookseller champion by CWA

The Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) has appointed author Elly Griffiths to the role of booksellers champion, as National Crime Reading Month begins across the UK. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-06 06:52:44 UTC ]
More news stories like this


PRH and Waterstones resolve dispute and return to 'business as usual'

Penguin Random House and Waterstones say they have returned to “business as usual” following a dispute that saw the bookseller limit the visibility of PRH titles in its stores. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-04 12:14:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The Advantages of Failure: What Thoreau Taught Me About Journal Writing

I have known plenty of failure in my writing life. Inspired partly by Henry David Thoreau, I set out to be a writer after college. Which effectively meant that I worked part-time as a carpenter and bookseller for the next dozen years without publishing a word. My current day job is as a teacher... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-06-04 08:49:40 UTC ]
More news stories like this


International Literature Showcase: emerging UK writers

What is the International Literature Showcase?The International Literature Showcase is a partnership between the National Centre for Writing and British Council. It aims to showcase amazing writers based in the UK to programmers, publishers and teachers of literature in English around the world.... Continue reading at British Council global

[ British Council global | 2021-06-03 11:39:08 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Bloomsbury profits jump as ‘joy of reading rediscovered’ in lockdown

Harry Potter publisher issues third profit upgrade of 2021 after sales increase to £185mCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageLockdown reading has helped the Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury to its third profit upgrade of the year after a 22% surge in annual pre-tax... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-06-02 08:20:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Bloomsbury and Granta claim three each on Orwell Prize shortlists

Bloomsbury and Granta have three titles each shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for Political Writing, and Political Fiction. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-05-28 23:46:28 UTC ]
More news stories like this


HarperCollins Ireland pre-empts debut novel by Kirwan

HarperCollins Ireland has pre-empted a debut novel by award-winning actor and playwright Emmet Kirwan, to be published in 2023.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-05-28 22:53:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Tor takes three from Klune

Pan Macmillan’s Tor imprint has signed Under the Whispering Door, The House in the Cerulean Sea and one further standalone novel by American author T J Klune. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-05-28 18:12:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Bloomsbury heads Off the Beaten Track with Dorey

Bloomsbury is to publish a new series of titles focusing on routes and locations for motor homes and camper vans, by Martin Dorey.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-05-28 04:52:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Mya-Rose Craig | 'If you care and want to change the world, you can go out and do it'

Mya-Rose Craig is a Bristol-based ornithologist who has been blogging about birds as Birdgirl since she was 11. She first gained fame after being featured on the 2010 BBC Four documentary “Twitchers: A Very British Obsession”, and has appeared on “Springwatch”, “Countryfile” and “The One... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-05-28 04:43:18 UTC ]
More news stories like this


In Egypt, Publishers Are Moving to E-Commerce

Cairo publisher and bookseller Ahmed Rashad on how the pandemic makes the digital transformation more urgent than ever. The post In Egypt, Publishers Are Moving to E-Commerce appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-05-27 14:54:26 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Film Rights: London’s BKS Agency Has an Option for Stephen McGinty’s ‘The Dive’

Mark Gordon's new production company's London wing has picked up the forthcoming HarperCollins UK release. The post Film Rights: London’s BKS Agency Has an Option for Stephen McGinty’s ‘The Dive’ appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-05-21 18:13:27 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Final John le Carré novel, Silverview, to be published in October

Finished before his death in December, le Carré gave his blessing to publish the novel, which follows a bookseller who becomes embroiled in a spy leakSilverview, a final full-length novel by John le Carré, in which the late author delves into “the soul of the modern Secret Intelligence Service”,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-05-19 13:00:09 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Kirstin Innes on Scotland's exciting female writing

Writer Kirstin Innes talks to The Bookseller about some of the most exciting and experimental Scottish female voices being published today. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-05-15 00:01:08 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The Book Closes on HMH Trade

As HarperCollins prepares to integrate Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's trade division, the group's name—and 150 years of trade publishing history—will fade away. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-05-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


HarperCollins snares early Higgins police thriller trilogy

HarperCollins is releasing a previously out of print police thriller trilogy by The Eagle Has Landed author Jack Higgins as a single volume. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-05-10 20:13:24 UTC ]
More news stories like this


News Corp completes Houghton Mifflin Harcourt consumer division deal

HarperCollins owner News Corp has completed its $349m (£252m) acquisition of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's consumer division. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-05-10 12:46:20 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Chandler made Bookseller news editor, Bayley joins team

Mark Chandler, previously senior reporter on The Bookseller, has been promoted to the position of news editor, effective from today (Friday 7th May).  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-05-07 22:17:08 UTC ]
More news stories like this