With a May 31 registration deadline that’s still looking too close for comfort for many, the Frankfurt Book Fair is expanding further on their already-promised “generous cancellation policy.” Additional funding from the German government has led the fair to proclaim that “the terms of cancellation can now be updated so that exhibitors will bear no financial risk from the impact of the global pandemic. Even if the fair is cancelled or if exhibitors are unable to travel to Frankfurt in October on short notice due to the pandemic situation, no cancellation fees will be charged.” Separately, the UK’s Competition & […]
Archives for May 2021
The Complete Buzz Books Fall/Winter Titles
As we previewed Tuesday, our new free ebook Buzz Books 2021: Fall/Winter arrives this week packed with 51 pre-publication excerpts from major authors and exciting debuts. Our sampler is the ultimate way to prepare for the upcoming publishing season. For the trade editions — with publicity and marketing info, and click-throughs for full galleys, you can download through Netgalley or Edelweiss. The consumers editions are available now on all major ebook platforms, including Kindle, Nook, Apple Books, Google Play, and Kobo. Authors to be featured on our upcoming Buzz Books Editors Panel on Wednesday, May 19 are noted with an asterisk. (Register for the panel now). Here […]
People, Etc.
Rivka Holler has been promoted to marketing coordinator for Wednesday Books/St. Martin’s. Senior agent Elizabeth Bennett becomes partner at the Transatlantic Agency. Catherine Cho has launched the new agency Paper Literary. She was at Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency. Forthcoming Colin Kaepernick‘s publishing company announced their first title — but it’s still not his memoir. (That was due last year, after a deal with Harper One in 2016 and another reported deal with One World in late 2017 also did not result in a published memoir.) Abolition for the People: The Movement for a Future without Policing & Prisons is an […]
Elliott Buys Paper Source Out of Bankruptcy, to be Run by BN CEO James Daunt
Elliott Investment Management announced an agreement to acquire the assets and operations of bankrupt stationery retailer Paper Source for approximately $91.5 million, with $40 million of that in cash and the rest in loans. The investor says its purchase will allow Paper Source “to emerge from Chapter 11 with the support of a well-capitalized owner committed to the development and growth of the business.” Paper Source filed for bankruptcy protection abruptly in early March, carrying over $100 million in debt (against gross sales in 2020 of $104 million). The filing was controversial as a number of suppliers complained that Paper […]
People, Etc.
At Delacorte, Kelsey Horton has been promoted to senior editor and Alison Romig has been promoted to assistant editor. Merry Sun has been promoted to editor at Portfolio. Jordan Moblo has joined Netflix in the new role of director of literary, and is expected to hire a team under him. He was co-head of the creative acquisitions department at Disney. Renée Jarvis and Kima Jones both join Triangle House Literary as agents. Jarvis was at MacKenzie Wolf Literary; Jones is the founder of Jack Jones Literary Arts. Grace Ross has joined Acast as content development manager, acquiring new and existing podcast partners. […]
Korea’s Kakao Buys Out Radish and Tapas Media as Naver Closes Wattpad Acquisition
South Korean’s Kakao Entertainment is buying serialized fiction app Radish for $440 million and web comics platform Tapas Media for $510 million. The purchases expand on Kakao’s popular webtoons business, currently focused on Korea and Japan. Kakao was already a minority investor in both companies — reported to own about 13 percent of Radish after helping to lead their $63 million Series A financing, and with a recently-increased stake of 40 percent in Tapas. “We are planning to engage the North American market in earnest through the intellectual property (IP) business” with the two acquisitions, Kakao Entertainment CEO Jinsoo Lee […]