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 ]
Joyce Meskis, the long-time owner of Tattered Cover Book Store in Denver, has died. She was 80 years old. Meskis was known as an innovative indie bookseller and a champion of free speech. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-27 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Joyce Meskis, the long-time owner of Tattered Cover Book Store in Denver, Col., has died. She was 80 years old. Meskis was known as an innovative indie bookseller and a champion of free speech. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-27 05:00:00 UTC ]
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From Bloomsbury to the Billboard Hot 100, these audiobooks will hook you based on story alone. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-12-23 10:00:15 UTC ]
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In perhaps the most significant organized labor effort at a U.S. publisher in almost 50 years, HarperCollins union members went on a lengthy strike this year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-16 05:00:00 UTC ]
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In September, Florence Pan was confirmed as the newest judge on the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. But before she could assume that new position, she became known in publishing circles as the judge who presided over the U.S. v. Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGAA... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-16 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors including Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, R. F. Kuang, and Molly McGhee rally with HarperCollins union workers outside the company's headquarters on December 16. Meanwhile, nearly 80% of literary agents responding to a recent poll said they support the ongoing strike. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-16 05:00:00 UTC ]
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More than 500 authors have signed a letter standing with the HarperCollins union as they reach of month of being on strike. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-12-12 18:27:00 UTC ]
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Photo by Rye White. As we enter what’s basically the last serious working week for corporate publishing (for some, anyway), it’s important to note that as of now, HarperCollins has yet to meet with any of its 250 or so striking contractors who are seeking better wages and benefits, along with... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-12-05 16:10:49 UTC ]
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Al Saqi Books in London, which was established in 1978, blames closure on rise in prices of Arabic-language books and ‘detrimental’ effect of BrexitEurope’s largest specialist bookseller for Middle Eastern books, based in London, has been forced to close because of the hike in prices of... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-12-05 15:40:52 UTC ]
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From soaring costs to the competition of subscriptions: HarperCollins UK CEO Charlie Redmayne addressed the fundamentals at Frankfurt. The post Publishing Perspectives Forum: Charlie Redmayne appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-12-02 21:30:55 UTC ]
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More than 150 literary agents signed a letter promising to stop submitting new books to HarperCollins to support striking workers. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-11-30 17:34:23 UTC ]
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In days of yore—that is, my childhood in the paper-mill town of Mexico, Maine—a labor strike looked like an ugly affair. Picketing men in steel-toed boots screamed themselves hoarse at every shift change, their righteous anger rising into a sky thick with the sulfurous clouds of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-11-23 16:38:06 UTC ]
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The recent explosion in content has created the need not only for more sophisticated tools to manage it, but better ways to attach data and analytics to the content in order to better optimize it at the right time for the right opportunity. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2022-11-22 05:01:00 UTC ]
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Penguin owner Bertelsmann will not appeal US judge’s ruling that merger would be illegal because it would hit authors’ payPenguin Random House, the world’s largest book publisher, and rival Simon & Schuster have scrapped a $2.2bn deal to merge, Penguin’s owner said in a statement on... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-11-21 22:41:38 UTC ]
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Her store, Art Catalogues, specialized in books for and about museum and gallery exhibitions and became a gathering place for artists and bibliophiles. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-11-20 21:18:47 UTC ]
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The National Books Awards returned in full force on November 16, 2022 for a night of in-person glitz after two years of virtual ceremonies. In front of white tents where the literati gathered for photos on the red carpet, publishing workers with the HarperCollins Union, standing in the cold,... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2022-11-18 12:06:00 UTC ]
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The HarperCollins Union's demands are for better pay, diversity initiatives, and more security for unionized workers. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-11-17 17:29:17 UTC ]
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To further capitalise on the popularity of BookTok the social media giant will let users purchase titles through partnerships with publishers and retailersTikTok has proved to be a hugely successful way to promote books in recent years, with publishers attributing the popularity of books such as... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-11-17 16:49:24 UTC ]
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In a star-studded night that celebrated more than 40 publishing professionals, Tordotcom Publishing editor Ruoxi Chen walked away with the top prize and used her moment to call attention to the HarperCollins union strike. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-11-16 05:00:00 UTC ]
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TikTok’s book reviewing community is here to stay, having even received publishing awards for innovation, but issues of authenticity and safety aboundBookTok, the nickname for TikTok videos in which books are discussed, analysed, cried about and turned into “aesthetic” moodboards, began as a... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-11-15 17:10:25 UTC ]
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