The owners of South Florida’s Murder on the Beach bookstore announced on Twitter that the store will close on April 15 after 25 years in business: “Although we have tried our best to keep the store alive, Covid and its aftermath have done us in,” they write. “Thank you to all our customers, friends and authors who have supported and helped us over the years. Twenty five years is a good run, and we have enjoyed every minute of it.”
Archives for February 2022
New Books Publishing February 22
Ben Mezrich, Roddy Doyle and Quan Barry lead this week’s fiction releases, while nonfiction includes new work from Sarah Weinman, Stacey Abrams and Lara Hodgson. 14 new works of fiction https://bookshop.org/lists/new-fiction-publishing-february-22 https://shop.aer.io/publishers_lunch/cl/New_Fiction_Publishing_February_/222258 11 new nonfiction titles https://bookshop.org/lists/new-nonfiction-publishing-february-22 https://shop.aer.io/publishers_lunch/cl/New_Nonfiction_Publishing_February_/222259 We consult a number of sources in compiling our weekly lists and PM members can see our lists for the coming three months through this reference page. But if you want to make sure your key titles are on our radar, now you can use this form to submit brief details as well: publun.ch/submitNotable. Please submit your notable titles at least 3 months prior to pub date.
Private Equity Firm Veritas to Acquire Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for $2.8 Billion
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt announced on Tuesday morning an agreement to sell the company to investment firm Veritas Capital for $21 a share, with Veritas paying approximately $2.8 billion. (At the end of their third quarter, the company had approximately $317 million in long-term debt.) Bloomberg first reported on the negotiations over the holiday weekend. The board says, “The decision to enter into an agreement with Veritas was the result of a deliberate and thorough strategic review process” that included “discussions with several potential strategic and financial bidders.” The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter. Bloomberg had reported […]
Tomorrow’s Discuss Guests: Co-founders of Melville House, Dennis Johnson and Valerie Merians
Join Discuss online at this Publishers Marketplace link tomorrow, Wednesday, February 23 at noon Eastern for an AMA with Melville House founders on indie publishing, the state of book publishing today, why they don’t require agented submissions, and more. Dennis Johnson is, with his wife Valerie Merians, the founder and publisher of Melville House. Johnson is also the founder of the MobyLives blog. To participate in Discuss, just sign in and use the “reply” button to type your questions or comments, and Dennis and Valerie will post back.
Private Equity Firm Veritas Reportedly Negotiating to Buy Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
After reporting last month that HMH was exploring a sale, Bloomberg now reports that private equity firm Veritas Capital is bidding to take the education publisher private. “A final decision hasn’t been made and other bidders may emerge for the Boston-based company,” the sources are said to have indicated. Veritas bought Cambium Learning Group in 2018 for $900 plus the assumption of debt (and in 2021 refinanced the debt with $2.15 billion from Blackstone).
AAP Supports Publisher Fighting US Mandatory Deposit Requirement
Valancourt Books has been challenging the requirement to deposit two copies of every copyrighted work with the Library of Congress as an unconstitutional taking of private property for a number of years now. Last July Washington, DC District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson granted summary judgment against the publisher, and Valancourt is appealing the decision. The AAP has just filed an amicus brief with the court in support of Valancourt. They argue Judge Jackson was fundamentally wrong in concluding, “Publishers are not required to make the deposit in order to print books or to sell them; the obligation is a […]