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"


Artist Duncan Grant erotic drawings kept under bed 'worth £2m'

A massive haul of drawings by Bloomsbury Group artist Duncan Grant is finally made public. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2020-10-07 23:12:12 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Bloomsbury wins Joe Biden biography

Bloomsbury is to publish a biography of US presidential candidate Joe Biden by Evan Osnos later this month.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-07 21:38:55 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Because there is no morality in capitalism, Fox News is getting its own imprint at HarperCollins.

To mark the 24th anniversary of the Fox News Channel’s debut, HarperCollins and Fox News Media have announced the creation of a new imprint that will publish a stream of books I’m sure you’ll read by Fox News personalities. If the pairing seems unexpected, it’s anything but. Rupert Murdoch, who... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-10-07 16:16:12 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Pan Mac rolls out diversity and inclusion action plan

Pan Macmillan has published a diversity and inclusion action plan, featuring measures and targets to employ and publish more people of colour. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-05 10:50:31 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Egmont triumphs in six-way auction for debut series

HarperCollins division Egmont has acquired three books from debut children’s author Ian Mark in a "heated" six-way auction.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-04 17:03:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Book Deals: Week of October 5, 2020

Nicole Lapin lands a seven-book, seven-figure deal with HarperCollins Leadership; Berkley prevails at auction to take three from Lana Popovic´; and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-10-02 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


'Publishers, open the doors to the industry', urges Adeola

Dapo Adeola has urged delegates at The Bookseller Children's Conference to "open the doors" and look for grassroots talent if they are serious about addressing diversity.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-01 12:50:21 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Biddulph outlines #DrawWithRob success at Bookseller Children’s Conference

​Rob Biddulph has said he was “overwhelmed” by the response to the online #DrawWithRob drawing lessons he ran during lockdown.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-30 21:07:16 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Erskine advises on marketing to children at Bookseller Children's Conference

Companies need to ensure their brands come across as useful, direct and friendly if they want to appeal to children, according to James Erskine, m.d. of specialist marketing agency Rocket.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-30 19:09:45 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Humanise the recruitment process to diversify, says conference keynote

​Delegates at The Bookseller Children’s Conference were told to avoid ‘copy and paste’ strategies when trying to diversify their companies. Cynthia Davies, founder of BAME Recruitment, giving the keynote today (1st October), said many companies want to run an inclusive recruitment process but... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-30 12:19:39 UTC ]
More news stories like this


HCCP's Tom Knight to Retire

Tom Knight, senior v-p of sales at HarperCollins Christian Publishing and HarperCollins Focus, is retiring at the end of the year. He will be replaced by Dan Van Gorp, currently director of independent retail sales. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-09-30 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


World Book Day plans outreach with book club and library collaboration

​A new monthly book club and greater outreach to public and school libraries are among the World Book Day plans for 2021, the charity’s c.e.o. has revealed at this year’s Bookseller Children’s Conference.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-28 19:52:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this


HarperCollins Children's wins Gold's Last Bear at auction

HarperCollins Children's Books has triumphed in a multi-publisher auction for 'beautiful' middle grade novel The Last Bear by debut children’s author Hannah Gold. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-23 18:38:42 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Garnons-Williams appointed Fig Tree publishing director

Helen Garnons-Williams is leaving HarperCollins to join Penguin General as publishing director for Fig Tree. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-22 14:02:50 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Combined Regional Bookseller Conference Draws a (Digital) Crowd

In a partnership that may turn out to be a rare, notable success during the pandemic, the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association and the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance saw their five-day combined conference kick off on Monday with high attendance. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-09-22 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Dan Halpern Moving to Editor-at-Large at Ecco

Dan Halpern, who founded Ecco in 1971 and sold it to HarperCollins in 1999, is transitioning from the role of president and publisher of the imprint to editor-at-large. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-09-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Walliams teams up with Stower for monstrous new picture book

David Walliams has announced his “monstrously funny” next picture book for HarperCollins Children's Books, Little Monsters, with new illustrator Adam Stower. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-17 05:46:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Dias, Rundell and Griffiths to close children’s conference

Three children’s authors from around the world will close this year’s Bookseller Children’s Conference (28th September-1st October) by giving their vision of the future of reading.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-16 21:29:01 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Pan Mac wins four-publisher fight for Payne

Pan Macmillan has won a four-way auction for Broken Heartlands: A Journey Through Labour’s Lost England by Financial Times political correspondent Sebastian Payne. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-16 08:41:04 UTC ]
More news stories like this


HC, S&S Name Company-Wide Diversity Executives

As part of an industry-wide effort to reckon with issues of diversity in trade book publishing, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster have each named new high-ranking staffers to address issues of diversity at their companies. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-09-16 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this