It was September of 2014 that author Douglas Preston showed the FT a letter being drafted by New American Foundation senior fellow Barry Lynn asking the Department of Justice to investigate Amazon for antitrust violations, and said Lynn was preparing a full report. That letter and position paper, finally ready for dispatch and being circulated to other authors to sign on, asks “that the Antitrust Division investigate Amazon’s power over the book market, and the ways in which that corporation exercises its power, bearing in mind the very special constitutional sensitivities that have historically been applied to any business that […]
Archives for July 2015
Carter Op-Ed Claims “Full Story” on WATCHMAN Manuscript Discovery
Over the weekend all pretense of holding to the Tuesday embargo for reviews of GO SET A WATCHMAN evaporated. Michiko Kakutani went first late Friday, revealing in her NYT review (which essentially doubled as breaking news) that Harper Lee’s original novel — out of which resulted TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD — presents an older, infirm Atticus Finch espousing racist, segregationist views and going to “at least one KKK meeting.” At the same time, it appeared the WSJ’s “pre-publication marketing campaign” included an essay from Lee’s “estate trustee, lawyer, and friend” Tonja B. Carter, who claims to tell the “full story, […]
New Leadership for Jonathan Cape
In the UK, Jonathan Cape publishing director Dan Franklin will step down at the end of year, with current Harvill Secker deputy publishing director Michal Shavit taking over from Franklin. Current editorial director Alex Bowler will move up to deputy publishing director, and Robin Robertson will be associate publisher. Franklin will take the title of associate publisher in January 2016 and “will continue to look after all his current authors,” working three days a week. Shavit will report to Vintage managing director Richard Cable in her new position, and a new editorial director for Harvill Secker “will be appointed in due course.” Cable […]
Authors Guild Addresses “Inadequate e-Book Royalties”
As part of their series of Fair Contract Initiative communications, the Authors Guild has a long post on “today’s inadequate e-book royalties,” asserting that “half of net proceeds is the fair royalty rate for e-books.” The post acknowledges one of the big structural obstacles to change: “Major book publishers have agreed to include ‘most favored nation’ clauses in thousands of existing contracts. These clauses require automatic adjustment or renegotiation of e-book royalties if the publisher changes its standard royalty rate, giving publishers a strong incentive to maintain the status quo.” Despite that, the Guild notes there are modest variations: “Some bestselling […]
Court to Decide If Revised Family Christian Buyout Goes to Creditor Vote
The bankruptcy court is set to hold a hearing today on a new set of proposals from Family Christian Stores to put a revised buyout offer from FCS Acquisition to a vote among the creditors. Their previous bid of $43 million has been increased to a range of between $52.4 million and $55.7 million, according to Family Christian’s lawyers. Sources told Michigan Live that the liquidation companies that participated in the auction — since voided by the court — are no longer participating (and who could blame them, since Family Christian has been working hard since the outset to ensure the […]
Six Months of Lawsuits
As we’ve continually reported over the past few years, the course of publishing continues to turn on litigation as much as innovation. In the most anticipated ruling of the year so far, the Court of Appeals recently upheld the antitrust verdict against Apple in a heatedly divided ruling that portends further appeal. The payout a settlement of up to $400 million to consumers (and another $50 million in legal fees) now hinges on whether Apple continues to pursue the case. Other ongoing cases of note include the FCS bankruptcy proceedings, and the suits against Author Solutions, along with the recently-opened antitrust […]