The announcement of Penguin Random House’s agreement to acquire Simon & Schuster was met quickly with a number of statements and articles in opposition. The Authors Guild (it’s “creating a huge imbalance in the US publishing industry”) and the American Booksellers Association (it “will mean too much power over authors and readers in the hands of a single corporation”) will both ask the Department of Justice to block the deal. The Association of Canadian Publishers is asking both the Competition Bureau and the Department of Canadian Heritage to review the deal. They say the merger would “have a direct and […]
Archives for November 2020
Verso Books Employees to Unionize
Employees of Verso Books announced that on November 25 they got voluntary recognition from management to join The Washington-Baltimore News Guild. The statement says, “In the coming weeks, they will begin contract negotiations.” Following “a concurrent unionization effort by the workers of Verso’s UK office” those employees are represented by the National Union of Journalists in London. Verso senior publicist Julia Judge says in the announcement: “The decision to unionize felt especially urgent now, as our staff both grows significantly in size and grows more remote. We’re excited to join our colleagues who have already begun organizing across the industry […]
People, Etc.
Sarah Bonamino has been promoted to publicist at St. Martin’s Publishing Group. Cecilia Lyra has joined P.S. Literary Agency as associate literary agent. She was previously associate literary agent at The Rights Factory. Literary agents Lester Hekking and Rik Kleuver have joined the management team at Sebes & Bisseling Literary Agency. Picks Jenna Bush Hager‘s Read With Jenna book club pick for December is The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. Fishing Someone associated with Melania Trump talked to Page Six to encourage the idea that she should get a book deal: “Melania is in meetings to write her White House memoir, and it would […]
Penguin Random House to Buy Simon & Schuster for $2.175 Billion
ViacomCBS announced Wednesday morning that it has a definitive agreement to sell Simon & Schuster to Penguin Random House for $2.175 billion in cash, “from existing liquid funds.” The transaction is expected to close in 2021, with S&S ceo Jonathan Karp telling staff that will “likely” happen “in the second half of 2021 at the earliest.” It is subject to regulatory approvals — primarily in the US — and competing bidders such as HarperCollins parent News Corp. have already declared they believe “it will clearly be a serious antitrust issue.” Bertelsmann has already indicated it does not expect approval issues. […]
Hachette Book Group Will Increase Starting Salaries to $45,000
Hachette Book Group will join Penguin Random House in increasing starting salaries to $45,000 in its most expensive locations. Salaries in HBG locations with lower cost of living will start at $41,000. The new salaries will take effect February 2021, at the company’s normal salary review period, and adjacent salaries will also be adjusted. A representative for HBG told PL that with the increase, the company hopes to attract and retain more employees of color and from less privileged backgrounds, and that it’s an opportunity they hope people of different economic means will take up. At the beginning of 2020, […]
Audible Will Pay Author Royalties for Audiobooks Returned After Seven Days
Responding to strenuous objections from authors and a number of groups that represent writers, Audible will reduce the extent to which their liberal returns and exchange program is conducted at authors’ expense. Starting in January, Audible will only debit authors’ earnings for audiobooks returned within seven days of purchase. Previously, an author who distributed their audiobook via Audible’s Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX) forfeited their earnings any time a customer returned their title within 365 days of purchase. The extent of those returns charges was not transparent to authors until last month. Audible will continue to allow liberal returns and exchanges, […]