This spring has brought two historical works of interest and value to the publishing community. Recently we excerpted two pieces from THE FAMILY BUSINESS, marking the 50th anniversary of Ingram Content Group. Today we are pleased to share a pre-publication extract from John B. Thompson’s excellent BOOK WARS, which publishes in the US next Tuesday. Author of the equally essential Merchants of Culture, Thompson is a professor of sociology at the University of Cambridge, whose specialties include studying the publishing business. Book Wars is a detailed account of the digital transition in trade publishing, covering everything from the major developments […]
Archives for April 2021
People, Etc.
Lynn Dilger has been promoted to senior vice president, chief technology officer at Sourcebooks. Dominique Raccah, Sourcebooks Publisher and ceo, said, “Lynn has built her career around excellence and strategic wins that keep us in sync with our clients and peers—building the technology infrastructure and the operational systems we use daily. She’s also thrilled with new technology and always striving to find new ways to bring books to readers.” Alyson Forbes has been promoted to coo of Catapult/Counterpoint/Soft Skull, overseeing the business and operations teams, including marketing, publicity, sales, finance, and the writing program at Catapult. Emily Carleton has joined […]
WH Smith High Street Sales Down 14 Percent, As Company Warns of a Potential Cash Crunch
WH Smith announced six month results for the period ended February 28, with High Street sales of £270 million, down 14 percent over the prior year, and profit of £33 million, compared to profit of £47 million last year. By the quarter, High Street sales were 88 percent of 2019 sales in Q1, 84 percent in Q2, and 87 percent in Q3 to date. The company called out High Street’s resilience and said the business was “well placed to continue to generate cash from its portfolio of well-located stores and growing internet businesses.” Reduced rents at lease renewal played an […]
People, Etc.
Johanna Gustavsson has joined Politikens as head of foreign rights, based in Sweden and running Politiken Literary Agency along with responsibility for sales/exports of Politikens in Denmark and Polaris in Sweden. She was previously vp, senior scout at Maria B. Campbell Associates, which scouts for Politikens. Hachette UK ceo David Shelley has taken over as president of the Publishers Association in the UK, with Bloomsbury ceo Nigel Newton serving as vice president. Rhoda Ackerson Weyr, 83, the first woman literary agent hired by William Morris Agency in 1972, died on April 25 in Palm Beach, FL. Weyr created her own […]
Authors Form Task Force To Recover Royalties From Disney
A group of authors and author organizations have formed the DisneyMustPay Joint Task Force to seek missing royalties from Disney for novelizations and comics they were hired to write based on Disney properties. The Guardian reports that the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Horror Writers Association, National Writers Union, Romance Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime are all involved with the group. Individual members include Neil Gaiman, Chuck Wendig, Mary Robinette Kowal, and more. The group formed following Alan Dean Foster’s November 2020 attempts to recover royalties for his Star Wars and Alien novelizations. The company bought […]
Discuss at Noon Today with Literary Agent Vicky Bijur
A reminder that longtime literary agent Vicky Bijur (Vicky Bijur Literary Agency) joins us today at noon Eastern as our next weekly AMA guest on the PM forum Discuss. The discussion will happen at this link. A reminder that these are straightforward typed message board conversations. No cameras, no sound, no zooming, no separate apps required. Use the “reply” button to type your questions or comments, and Vicky will post back.