Diversity Penguin Random House published their 2020 Social Impact Report, evaluating their “social impact commitment areas” of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion; Environment & Sustainability; and Free Expression & Joy of Reading. CEO Markus Dohle acknowledges in the introduction, “In some areas, we have a long way to go. Change is overdue when it comes to building a publishing industry that’s truly diverse and equitable—from the authors we publish to the employees we hire. We cannot erase the past, but we can—and will—do everything within our power to help build a more equitable and just world through the power of books […]
Archives for June 2021
International: UK Publishes PRH-S&S Merger Review, PRH-Waterstones Terms Dispute, Bonnier Modifies Strawberry Stake
The UK’s Competition & Markets Authority has now published the full text of their decision in not challenging Penguin Random House‘s pending acquisition of Simon & Schuster. The answer is as we indicated from the start: S&S UK, with sales of only about £40 million, is just too small to make a meaningful difference. There is some nuance in how the CMA approached the decision that could interest people trying to anticipate how the Department of Justice will view the deal. The CMA writes that market share “estimates included in the parties’ internal documents for the United States” show PRH […]
Newman’s Falling Tops July Indie Next List
The ABA named Falling by T. J. Newman as its Indie Next No. 1 pick for July. Also on the list are Carolyn Ferrell’s Dear Miss Metropolitan, Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray’s The Personal Librarian, and Miranda Cowley Heller’s The Paper Palace, all excerpted and available for download in our Buzz Books 2021: Spring/Summer. The rest of the picks: A Psalm for the Wild-Built, by Becky Chambers Fox and I: An Uncommon Friendship, by Catherine Raven Seek You, by Kristen Radtke Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead, by Emily Austin The Woman They Could Not Silence, by […]
June Book Picks
People, Etc.
Quarto COO Ken Fund will retire from the company on December 1, and will leave the board at the same time. He joined Quarto in 1999, originally as president and CEO of Rockport Publishers, before running the company’s US division for many years. He says in the announcement, “Being a part of Quarto for the past 22 years has been a wild adventure that I have enjoyed completely. This is the right time to retire as Quarto is in good hands and has a strong future.” Dominique Cimina has been promoted to svp, publicity, corporate communications, and author brand strategy […]
Legal: Continued Foundry Disagreement, AAP Publishers Sued US Over Tariffs
Both sides have now traded filings in the Foundry Media legal dispute — making clear that Yfat Reiss Gendell and Peter McGuigan have both agreed to the appointment of a temporary receiver over the agency’s, but each party wants the receiver to serve its particular agenda. Gendell wants a receiver authorized to sell Foundry’s assets, and asked the court to send the dispute to mediation. In a new filing, McGuigan states that he expects a receiver “would likely not have any other choice but to sue for, and collect any assets, claims or debts of Foundry,” including the collection of […]