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"


HarperCollins union approves contract, ends 3-month strike

Striking union members at HarperCollins have approved a tentative agreement reached last week and will return to work Tuesday, ending a walkout that lasted more than three months and became the center of an ongoing debate about salaries in the industry Continue reading at ABC News

[ ABC News | 2023-02-16 23:12:16 UTC ]
More news stories like this


HarperCollins union approves contract, ends 3-month strike

Striking union members at HarperCollins have approved a tentative agreement reached last week and will return to work Tuesday, ending a walkout that lasted more than three months and became the center of an ongoing debate about salaries in the industry Continue reading at ABC News

[ ABC News | 2023-02-16 23:11:22 UTC ]
More news stories like this


HarperCollins Union Voted to Ratify Contract

The HarperCollins Union has voted to ratify the contract with HarperCollins. The employees represented by the union will return 2/21. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-02-16 20:49:19 UTC ]
More news stories like this


HC Union Ratifies New Contract

After a three months on strike, unionized HarperCollins employees voted 194 to 10 in favor of the new contract and will return to work on February 21. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-02-16 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Hitting the Books: NASA's Class 8 broke color barriers and glass ceilings alike

America's first astronauts from the 1960s were all pulled from the highest ranks of the nation's military. As such, NASA's first few classes tended to conform to a rather specific demographic theme — white, male, flattop haircut you could set a watch too. By the mid-70's however, the space... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-02-12 15:30:30 UTC ]
More news stories like this


HarperCollins, HarperCollins Union Reach a Deal

Details on the agreement are forthcoming, but HarperCollins Union leaders and the publisher have reached a tentative deal. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-02-10 14:49:53 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Deal Reached in HarperCollins Strike as Publisher Has Another Bad Quarter

HarperCollins has reached a tentative agreement with its striking union that includes an unspecified increase in minimum salaries. The deal was announced shortly after the publisher reported that sales fell 14% in the quarter ended December 31, and that profits plunged 52%. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-02-10 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


HarperCollins and striking union reach tentative agreement

HarperCollins Publishers and the union representing around 250 striking employees reached a tentative agreement providing increases to entry level salaries Continue reading at ABC News

[ ABC News | 2023-02-10 04:38:56 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Striking HarperCollins Workers Reach Tentative Agreement With Publisher

After three months of a strike, the two parties reached a tentative deal that includes wage increases and a one-time bonus. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-02-10 02:56:17 UTC ]
More news stories like this


When my memoir came out, I got a brutal shock. Vulnerable writers need protection | Terri White

Nothing prepared me for revisiting the most painful times of my life – then being criticised for it. We need industry-wide guidelines to helpI called her Terri The World Gets. She was the outward-facing me, the woman I’d spent decades curating. And Terri The World Gets was about to be rocketed... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-02-08 08:00:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Bertelsmann subsidiary to end, sell dozens of magazines

German media group RTL Deutschland says it will stop publishing almost two dozen print magazines and seek to sell a similar number Continue reading at ABC News

[ ABC News | 2023-02-07 13:23:50 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Lit Hub Weekly: January 30-February 3, 2023

“Why I’m still on strike.” Olivia McGiff’s portraits from the HarperCollins picket line. | Lit Hub “Writers are read for how they write, not what they write about.” Henry Louis Gates Jr. on what makes a “classic” African American text. | Lit Hub Criticism How Jane Fonda somehow combined dance... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-02-04 11:30:51 UTC ]
More news stories like this


17 paperbacks coming out this February.

All hail the paperback release. * Tessa Hadley, Free Love (Harper Perennial, February 7) The HarperCollins Union has been on strike since November 10, 2022. Literary Hub stands in solidarity with the union. Please consider donating to the strike fund. “The stories of break and repair in this... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-02-02 16:04:29 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Why I’m Still on Strike: Portraits from the HarperCollins Picket Line

I really love my job. As a book cover designer, I get to read unseen manuscripts and create art to swaddle them in, a visual blanket in which to usher them into the light of day. Working for a major publisher like HarperCollins means my work will be seen around the world, in airports and […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-01-30 09:55:32 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Who Wins in the HarperCollins Union Labor Dispute?

On strike since November 2022, the HarperCollins union walkout has become a test case for how labor unions could change the publishing business. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-01-18 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Boris Johnson to publish ‘memoir like no other’ of his time as PM

The book, which so far has no title or publication date, was announced by publisher William Collins, who did not reveal how much Johnson will be paidA memoir by former prime minister Boris Johnson, covering his years as leader, will be published by HarperCollins, it has been announced.The book,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-01-16 16:38:43 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Joyce Meskis, Bookseller Who Defended Readers’ Rights, Dies at 80

Her Denver bookstore, the Tattered Cover, was among the country’s best, and she often found herself in the midst of First Amendment fights. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-01-07 20:10:30 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Egypt’s IPA Prix Voltaire Laureate Khaled Lotfy Out of Prison

The Prix Voltaire-winning Cairo publisher and bookseller Khaled Lotfy was released from prison, the IPA reports, on November 19. The post Egypt’s IPA Prix Voltaire Laureate Khaled Lotfy Out of Prison appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-01-03 05:05:52 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Big Bad Wolf’s Big Plans

As the cofounder of BookXcess and Big Bad Wolf, Andrew Yap is the most powerful bookseller you likely don’t know. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-30 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


‘The live shows have really lit a fire under us’: how podcasts became arena fillers

Funny, frank and intimate … in recent years, the live versions of audio shows have shot up by 2,000%. Now, comedians are selling out auditoriums nationwideWhen Freddie Mercury jogged on to the stage at Live Aid, he knew he had the crowd in the palm of his hand. When comedian and radio host John... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-12-27 15:00:24 UTC ]
More news stories like this