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"


Emily Cook on the Art of Getting Books into Bookstores

There are more than 200,000 books being published each year. For host Mitchell Kaplan, “One of the questions that I’m asked more than anything else as a bookseller is: how do you find out about all the books that you carry in your stores?” This week on The Literary Life, his guest is publishing... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2019-08-02 08:46:03 UTC ]
More news stories like this


O’Reilly unveils inaugural 'Dingle Lit' Festival

Former bookseller Sheila O’Reilly is helping to launch a new literary festival, 'Dingle Lit', on the Dingle Peninsula this November. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-02 06:32:46 UTC ]
More news stories like this


HarperCollins Italia Names Rizzo to Lead Children’s; Mondadori-Reworld Deal Closes

ormerly with Terre di mezzo and Mondadori, Giulia Rizzo moves to Harper Italia's children's division, credited with a 'fresh look and open mind.' The post HarperCollins Italia Names Rizzo to Lead Children’s; Mondadori-Reworld Deal Closes appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-08-01 21:05:58 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Macmillan scoops Snowden memoir in global deal

Pan Macmillan has scooped NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden’s "incredible" memoir as part of a global deal by Macmillan Publishers. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-01 17:23:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Pan Mac snaps up British Superbike star Shane 'Shakey' Byrne's memoir in three-publisher auction

Pan Macmillan has snapped up the autobiography of Shane "Shakey" Byrne, the most successful British Superbike Championship rider in history, in a three-publisher auction. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-01 00:46:31 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Bloomsbury wins auction for Samantha Walton's 'nature cure' book

Bloomsbury has won an auction for academic Samantha Walton’s exploration of the "long cultural legacy of the ‘nature cure’". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-30 23:59:19 UTC ]
More news stories like this


HarperCollins signs Iain Dale's 'Divided Society'

HarperCollins will publish a part-memoir, part-polemic book about the state of public discourse in Britain by former Biteback m.d. Iain Dale. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-30 23:23:27 UTC ]
More news stories like this


HQ snaps up 'modern-day Cinderella tale' from Sophia Money-Coutts

HarperCollins will publish two new titles by journalist and author Sophia Money-Coutts. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-30 08:09:25 UTC ]
More news stories like this


4th Estate snaps up Bernie Marsden's memoir

HarperCollins imprint 4th Estate will publish Whitesnake musician Bernie Marsden's memoir in November 2019.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-30 07:38:39 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Donnelly joins Bloomsbury Children's Books

Scholastic’s Strawberrie Donnelly has joined Bloomsbury Children’s Books in the newly created role of art director. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-29 03:23:16 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Bloomsbury, Faber and Granta make Polari 2019 shortlists

Bloomsbury has scooped two nominations on the Polari 2019 shortlists with titles from indies Faber, Granta and Orenda also up for awards. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-29 01:46:32 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Bloomsbury signs deal with Classoos for 14,000 academic books

Bloomsbury has signed a licensing agreement to make 14,000 of its academic books available through digital textbook platform Classoos. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-25 06:50:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Philippa Gregory reimagines young fiction title for HarperCollins

HarperCollins Children’s Books will republish a young fiction novel by Philippa Gregory about a princess called Florizella, this November. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-24 14:49:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Scribe signs debut from Mr B's bookseller in two-book deal

Scribe has snapped up Mr B's bookseller Jessica Gaitán Johannesson's debut novel in a two-book deal.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-22 18:31:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Space, the Final Frontier (shelftalker)

A bookseller commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing by… building a giant space shuttle with egg cartons. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-07-22 12:00:31 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Bookouture hires Dauman and Chimirri ahead of office move

Bookouture has hired Sphere’s Lucy Dauman and HQ’s Cara Chimirri ahead of a move to the Bloomsbury Building. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-22 11:24:49 UTC ]
More news stories like this


'What did you order?': Christian publisher CBD changes name after cannabis queries

US Bible vendor Christian Book Distributors says its acronym has become confusing for customersAfter 40 years of trading, the American Christian bookseller CBD has been forced to change its name after customers in search of a different kind of balm – the cannabis-derived compound CBD – ended up... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-07-22 11:24:23 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Retail spotlight: Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop and The Blessington Book Store

We talk to Galway institution Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop, which will celebrating its 30th birthday in October, and Nibbies Children’s Bookseller of the Year shortlistee, The Blessington Book Store.   Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-18 23:52:32 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Books and movies to wed! HarperCollins and Sony Pictures are committing to a long-term relationship.

Though books have been supplying the movie and tv industries with storylines since the dawn of the talkie, the rise of streaming content over the last five years has created a desperate need for more (MORE we scream as we toggle endlessly after binge-worthy distraction from the hell of the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2019-07-17 14:53:33 UTC ]
More news stories like this


HC Launches Film Shingle with Sony, Former Fox 2000 Head

In what it's dubbing an "unprecedented partnership," HarperCollins and Sony Pictures Entertainment are investing in the former team at Fox 2000 to find and produce content based on (but not restricted to) literary material. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-07-16 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this