As we suggested in June, the Apple ebook settlement fund of $400 million still had a substantial remainder of unclaimed funds after the primary distribution year expired. Between the Apple funds and the previous publisher settlements, there is still $84 million in consumer compensation credits available. so in early September Judge Denise Cote agreed to another distribution of the remaining funds. Counsel for the consumer class Hagens Berman tells PL that the new round of credits will be issued as of October 18, with the major ebooksellers preparing notifications to send to their customers. So another burst of free money […]
Archives for October 2017
People, Etc.
At The Bright Agency, Anne Moore Armstrong has been promoted to senior trade agent and James Burns has been promoted to managing agent. Editor and translator Elianna Kan has joined Regal Hoffmann & Associates as an affiliate agent, with a focus on representing Spanish-language titles. William Morris Endeavor will represent Dutch publisher Lebowski‘s titles in crime/suspense, true crime, and grounded sci-fi, for publishing rights outside of Holland as well as film and TV. Ellen Kokontis has been promoted to associate art director for Albert Whitman. Awards Richard Thaler, of the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, was awarded the Nobel Prize […]
Weinstein Author Brzezinski Protests, and Then Weinstein Is Fired
Allegations about Harvey Weinstein’s years of multiple incidents of sexual harassment became relevant to the Weinstein Company’s small presence in book publishing over the weekend. MSNBC news personality Mika Brzezinski, who announced a new deal with Weinstein Books in July, said via Twitter: “I have a three-book deal with Weinstein Books, through Hachette. I can’t go forward with those books unless Harvey resigns.” He didn’t resign, but on Sunday the remaining board members — four of the all-male nine-person board had already resigned — fired Weinstein. A statement said he was dismissed “in light of new information about misconduct…that has emerged in […]
People, Etc.
Following Kazuo Ishiguro‘s Nobel win, Knopf will reprint 200,00 copies of his assorted backlist, all with reprinted jackets bearing the Nobel seal. A poster was created for bookstores as well, with more promotional efforts on the way shortly. Julie Ertl is joining Vintage and Anchor as a senior publicist, starting October 9. She was most recently with Little, Brown. At Simon & Schuster, Stuart Roberts has been promoted to associate editor and Zachary Knoll has been promoted to assistant editor. Lara Jones has been promoted to assistant editor at Emily Bestler Books. At Touchstone, Shida Carr has been promoted to associate director of publicity […]
Corporate: PRH Deal Closes, Milo Suit Proceeds, and More
The sale of a 22 percent stake in Penguin Random House from Pearson to Bertelsmann has officially been completed, per the previously announced agreement. Pearson retains a 25 percent share in the book publisher going forward. New York State Supreme Court Judge Barry Ostrager declined to dismiss Milo Yiannopoulos’s breach of contract lawsuit against Simon & Schuster. So the action will proceed to discovery and then trial. S&S noted in a statement that the ruling “was purely in connection with a preliminary procedural motion, and was not an adjudication on the merits of Yiannopoulos’ claims. As we proceed to discovery, we remain […]
People, Etc.
Marian Lizzi has been promoted to vice president, editor-in-chief at Tarcher Perigee. Jennifer Heddle has been promoted to executive editor at Disney/Lucasfilm Publishing. Brooke Csuka has been promoted to senior publicist for Algonquin and Algonquin Children’s. Aileen Boyle has launched Audere Media, a publicity and marketing consultancy for authors, publishers and brands. She was most recently vp, associate publisher for Blue Rider Press. Caity Anast has been promoted to metadata and contracts supervisor for Albert Whitman. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron will both appear at the official opening ceremonies for the Frankfurt Book Fair next Tuesday. France […]