Jennifer Schuster has left Crown Archetype, where she was an executive editor, to launch Jen Schuster Editorial Services, providing developmental editing, ghostwriting, proposal development, and consulting services.
In an update to our report on Folio Literary Management acquiring Harold Ober Associates, Phyllis Westberg and Craig Tenney are retiring, and other Ober personnel will join Folio.
Bookselling
Laurel Book Store in Oakland closed on Friday, after a relocation downtown four years ago caused financial troubles. Last July, owner Luan Stauss asked customers to help raise $30,000 she needed to catch up in rent. She wrote in a final newsletter to customers, “It’s important that you support your local businesses, whether near your home or your work. Get out and see what is near you. If you need something, check locally before you go online. Chances are, with a little effort, you’ll find what you need.”
Legislation
Senator Bernie Sanders introduced a bill with no chance of passage, designed to generate attention around the burden on public assistance programs when companies such as Amazon and Walmart pay low wages. It’s called the “Stop Bad Employers by Zeroing Out Subsidies Act” (e.g. Stop B E Z O S). It would quire big employers to reimburse the government for federal assistance (such as food stamps, public housing, and Medicaid) received by their employees. Sanders said he has heard from “many hundreds” of Amazon workers who have relied on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Medicaid and other federal programs to provide for their families while employed.