On December 13, the Paris Commercial Court ruled that bankrupt book club France Loisirs will be taken over by French investment fund Financière Trésor de Patrimoine. As part of the deal, Le Monde reports that 90 percent of employees will be laid off, with the company retaining “forty-four employees on permanent contracts out of 484.” The book club currently has 122 stores and 22 dedicated sections in stores across France — all but 14 stores will close. (A decision has not yet been made about 13 locations in Belgium and Canada.) France Loisirs has been struggling financially for over six […]
Archives for December 2021
Penguin Random House Answers DOJ
Penguin Random House filed their initial answer on Monday to the Department of Justice’s complaint seeking to block the publisher’s plan to acquire Simon & Schuster. The reply challenges the core of the DOJ’s case, which asserts that the acquisition is “likely to substantially lessen competition” for “the acquisition of US publishing rights to books from authors,” focusing in particular on what the government describes as the market for “anticipated top-selling books,” which “would be highly concentrated.” But is that an acceptable market definition? PRH argues that, “DOJ invents a market for rights to ‘anticipated top-selling books’ that excludes the […]
Ace Atkins Retires From Spenser Series
Ace Atkins announced that he is finished writing Robert B. Parker’s Spenser books to focus on other projects. His tenth book in the series, ROBERT B. PARKER’S BYE BYE BABY, comes out from Putnam in January. Putnam tells PL that Mike Lupica will take over writing the Spenser books and continue writing Parker’s Jesse Stone series. Allison Gaylin will take over the Sunny Randall titles from Lupica, whose last book in that series, ROBERT B. PARKER’S REVENGE TOUR, publishes in May.
People 12/13
Kate Roddy and Jenna Jankowski have both been promoted to associate editor at Sourcebooks.
Best Of: NPR Critic Maureen Corrigan’s Top Ten
Obituary: Anne Rice
Author of INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE Anne Rice, 80, died on December 11 from complications from a stroke, her son Christopher announced on social media. “As my mother, she taught me to embrace my dreams, reject conformity, and challenge the dark voices of fear and self-doubt,” he wrote. “As a writer, she taught me to defy genre boundaries and surrender to my obsessive passions. He said that a public celebration of Rice’s life will take place in New Orleans next year. “This event…will invite the participation of her friends, readers and fans who brought her such joy and inspiration throughout […]