The two court cases stemming from a planned Broadway theatrical adaptation of Harper Lee’s TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, filed in two separate jurisdictions, will proceed in the Southern District of New York. A Federal court judge in Alabama ruled Monday that Tonja Carter’s original suit against producer Scott Rudin should transfer to the Southern District of New York, where Rudin’s company, Rudinplay Inc., had filed a countersuit against the Harper Lee Estate. Judge William H. Steele’s 19-page ruling denied Rudinplay’s motion to dismiss on the grounds that jurisdiction in Alabama did not apply.The producer “well knew that it was forming […]
Archives for May 2018
People, Etc.
Daniel Houghton has left his position as ceo of Lonely Planet, “in order to take on a new CEO role with another digital company.” Travel site Skift reports that it “has also learned that parent company NC2 is said to be pursuing a sale of Lonely Planet.” The publisher said, “The rest of Lonely Planet’s leadership team remains in place and will be continuing with business as usual.” Real estate billionaire Brad Kelley’s NC2 media bought the publisher from the BBC in early 2013 for £51.5 million ($77.3 million), and implemented significant layoffs shortly thereafter. Brant Rumble will join Hachette Books […]
Penguin UK Editor Accused of Sexual Misconduct
Penguin UK editor Donald Futers was accused of sexual misconduct by poet AK Blakemore. Blakemore wrote on Twitter in an attached statement: “I first met Donald Futers, Penguin’s Poetry Editor, at a reading in London in the Autumn of 2015 I attended with my then partner. A few months later, after a second reading, Donald & I exchanged numbers and planned to meet to discuss my work. The evening of that meeting he assaulted me. We had both been drinking. I disclosed what had happened at the time to my partner and a few close friends.” Blakemore writes that she decided […]
The Last Gasp: Apple Agrees To Settle Shareholder eBook Complaint
The long-running saga of the Department of Justice vs. Apple over antitrust issues with ebook pricing had one last gasp. Two years after Apple paid out more than $450 million in settlement credits in the original case (which was settled two years prior, in 2014), the company has settled a subsequent derivative shareholder complaint, originally lodged one month after the 2014 settlement was finalized. That agreement primarily requires Apple to continue a variety of antitrust training and compliance processes that the company had initially (and unsuccessfully) resisted from the government. Apple will comply with an antitrust monitor through 2022; modify […]
People, Etc.
Tracey Guest has been promoted to vice president, executive director of publicity for St. Martin’s. Franklin & Siegal Associates has added adult scouting to their work for Aschehoug in Norway, while continuing with YA and middle grade. Imprints Random House Children’s is launching a new graphic novel imprint, Random House Graphic, in fall 2019. Gina Gagliano will lead the line as publishing director. She joins from from First Second Books, where she was most recently the associate director, marketing & publicity. Gagliano says, “From awards to bestsellers, graphic novels have been advancing from success to success over the past decade. It’s the perfect time to […]
Springer Nature IPO to Price At Low End; Holtzbrinck Supports It with Additional Share Order
The Springer Nature IPO will officially price later in the day Tuesday, but the bookrunners were indicating only modest demand for shares and are expected to price the stock at 10.50 euros, the bottom end of their range, before shares start trading in Frankfurt on Wednesday. At that price, the offering should raise 1.2 billion euros in proceeds, which the publisher will use to pay down their debt load of approximately 3 billion euros. That would give their shares a market cap of 3.2 billion euros. On Friday, Holtzbrinck stepped in to support the offering after “demand fell short of […]