On Friday afternoon Hachette Book Group announced that it “has decided that it will not publish Woody Allen’s memoir A Propos of Nothing…and will return all rights to the author.” The cancellation followed a protest from HBG employees on Thursday that drew international media attention. The company noted in their statement that, “We are committed to offering a stimulating, supportive and open work environment for all our staff. Over the past few days, HBG leadership had extensive conversations with our staff and others. After listening, we came to the conclusion that moving forward with publication would not be feasible for […]
Archives for March 2020
Simon & Schuster Will Not Attend Rescheduled Bologna Book Fair
As COVID-19 continues to spread and Italy in particular remains a hot zone, Simon & Schuster announced that they will forgo the rescheduled Bologna Book Fair, which hopes to convene starting May 4. The company said in a statement, “The health and safety of Simon & Schuster’s employees, as well as the well-being of our many friends and colleagues in our industry, is always our primary consideration. We appreciate that the Bologna Book Fair has been postponed until May, but after due consideration and out of an abundance of caution, Simon & Schuster has decided that its employees (US & […]
People, Etc.
At Bloomsbury Children’s, Mary Kate Castellani has been promoted to editorial director; Melissa Kavonic to managing editorial director; Kate Sederstrom to assistant editor; Beth Eller to senior director of school and library marketing and domestic sub rights; Phoebe Dyer to marketing associate; and Jeanette Levy to assistant art director. Stephen Isaacs joined the McGraw-Hill Business team as a senior editor. Kendra Newton has been promoted to senior marketing director for Dey Street Books. Raffaella de Angelis joined producer and distributor Fremantle this week, working on literary acquisitions for their global drama division, as well as for production companies The Apartment (part of Fremantle) and […]
Hachette Book Group Staff Stages Walkout Over Woody Allen’s Memoir
Hachette Book Group employees staged a walkout on Thursday afternoon, to protest Grand Central’s intended publication of Woody Allen’s memoir, Apropos of Nothing, on April 7. Initially billed online as #LittleBrownWalkout and then expanded to include #GrandCentralWalkout and #HachetteWalkout, the protest involved employees from across the company. Sources at HBG and on Twitter estimate 75 to 100 people in New York participated, and some employees at the Boston office walked out as well. Some people at Little, Brown turned on an email autoreply that read, “This afternoon, the staff of Little, Brown and Company have walked out of the Hachette […]
ViacomCBS Hopes For a Big Price for Simon & Schuster
A source helpfully — or hopefully? — tells the WSJ that ViacomCBS “will seek at least $1.2 billion for Simon & Schuster.” LionTree is advising ViacomCBS on the sale. While no one ever tells the press they are shopping a bargain, that would represent a very aggressive multiple. The best available yardstick for a company like this is Bertelsmann’s pending deal to acquire the remaining 25 percent of Penguin. They set an enterprise value (equity plus debt) of $3.67 billion, suggesting Bertelsmann is paying a multiple of about 6.5 times operating EBITDA. S&S just reported sales of $814 million for […]
People, Etc.
Sarah MacLachlan will retire as president and publisher of House of Anansi Press and president of Groundwood Books at the end of June. She has been with the company for 16 years. Bruce Walsh, former publisher of University of Regina Press, will succeed her as publisher of House of Anansi. Semareh Al-Hillal, current publisher of Groundwood, will move over to president role, while Karen Li will become publisher. Li was previously editorial director of Owlkids Books. MacLachlan said in a statement, “Over the years I have had the privilege of working with the most talented creators and the best people […]