France’s second-largest publisher Editis — bought by Vivendia from Planeta earlier this year — is in exclusive negotiations to acquire L’Archipel. (Generally speaking, these exclusive negotiations lead to a formal acquisition, and the parties speak about it as a done deal in their press release.) L’Archipel will remain under the direction of founder and president […]
Archives for June 2019
Publishing Snaps Back at Scribd’s Unauthorized “Snapshots”
Authors, agents and publishers were surprised to learn earlier this week that reading subscription service Scribd — a retailer account for publishers — had helped itself to creating 500 short text and audio write-throughs of a swathe of high-profile nonfiction in the name of “discovery.” Did Michelle Obama, Daniel Pink, Elizabeth Gilbert, Phil Knight, Seth […]
People, Etc.
Amara Hoshijo has been promoted to editor and rights manager at Soho Press. Ashley Yepsen has been promoted to publicist at The Experiment. Profiled: Editing By Ear Judith Gurewich, publisher of Other Press, was profiled in the NYT, with emphasis on her “uniquely aural editing process.” She has authors come to her home in Cambridge, […]
People, Etc.
At WaterBrook, Multnomah and Convergent, Keren Baltzer has joined Convergent Books as editorial director, reporting to Tina Constable. She was previously senior acquisitions editor at FaithWords. Becky Nesbitt joins as executive editor, acquiring books for WaterBrook, reporting to Laura Barker. She was previously vp, editor-in-chief of Howard Books. Paul Pastor has joined as editor for […]
Oni Press/Lion Forge Merger Leads to Controversial Layoffs
Since comics publisher Oni Press merged with Lion Forge and its parent company Polarity on May 8, critics charge that layoffs disproportionately targeted marginalized employees, especially queer women and women of color. The Daily Beast reports that those fired included editor-in-chief Andrea Colvin and associate editor (and Eisner award-winning cartoonist) Christina “Steenz” Stewart. In total, […]
Briefs: Germany’s KNV Sold, Scribd Minis, Rebel Girls Imprint, PRH UK Pulls Book
Bankrupt German book wholesaler KNV (Koch, Neff and Volckmar) was auctioned by the trustee to Berlin-based privately owned logistics company Zeitfracht. The sale price was not disclosed, but the creditors’ committees have approved the purchase agreement. Zeitfracht says it will retain all employees — approximately 1,600 jobs — and continue to operate KNV’s three locations. […]