Remember when the US enforced antitrust laws against large companies dominating particular markets (rather than turning antitrust on its head to punish smaller companies trying to preserve a competitive market in the face of predatory pricing from a giant vertical monopolist)? Well be still your jaded but still beating publishing hearts: On Tuesday, the Federal […]
Archives for February 2019
Self-Publishing Group Accused of Stacking Nebula Nominations
The 2018 Nebula Award finalists, announced last week, have sparked controversy in the science fiction and fantasy community, drawing accusations that a self-publishing group called 20Booksto50K stacked this year’s list with a slate of self-published authors they selected. The Nebulas are voted on by SFWA members, and according to a post by author Cora Buhlert, […]
HMH Stock Drops Sharply on Earnings Report
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt reported full year and 4th quarter earnings for 2018 Thursday morning — and despite closing sales ahead of expectations, and within the company’s 2018 guidance, the market reacted sharply. Shares were down more than 11 percent in the first hour of trading, with a higher-than-expected fourth quarter loss from continuing operations and […]
People, Etc.
San Francisco Chronicle books editor John McMurtrie announced on Twitter on Wednesday, “I got laid off.” He added, “The bright side? More time for reading.” (Separately, arts and entertainment editor and Sunday datebook editor Leba Hertz tell us she is retiring at the end of the week, by her choice.) We queried editor-in-chief Audrey Cooper […]
Washington Post Hopes to Issue Mueller Report Book
The Washington Post has sold a book on THE MUELLER REPORT to Colin Harrison at Scribner, intending to publish “instantly” as an ebook and paperback — but only if the results of the investigation are made public. Todd Shuster and Bridget Matzie at Aevitas represented the newspaper. (The publisher has audio and will publish in […]
Silicon Valley Foundation Crankstart Is New Booker Prize Funder
The flicker of false (and you might say falsely-targeted) hope in the UK trade that a new sponsor for the Booker Prize might let them remove Americans from contention has probably been extinguished — since the new sponsors live in California. (The Booker Foundation insists, “A sponsor or funder has no say over the rules.”) […]