The Salariya Book Company will be distributed by IPG staring May 1; AdiDev Press will be distributed by Trafalgar Square Publishing starting June 1; and New Reading Technology is now distributed by IPG.
Archives for March 2022
Court Moves to Make Injunction Blocking Maryland’s Library Lending Law Permanent
The state of Maryland did not file an appeal of District Court of Maryland Judge Deborah L. Boardman’s clear and forceful imposition of a preliminary injunction in February blocking implementation of the state’s library ebook lending law. In that ruling the judge found that the plaintiff AAP “will likely succeed on its claim that [Maryland’s law] is preempted by the Copyright Act.” In a March 28 letter, Judge Boardman ordered the state “to show cause by April 11, 2022, why the preliminary injunction should not be converted to a permanent injunction.” Maryland needs to come up with a new argument […]
Memorial: Author Todd Gitlin
There will be a memorial for author Todd Gitlin at the Low Memorial Library at Columbia University on April 9 at 3:30 pm. The event is open to the public but rsvp’s to the following email address are appreciated: April9ToddGitlin@gmail.com
Imprints: Harper Select
HarperCollins Focus will launch a new imprint, Harper Select, which “will focus exclusively on memoir and narrative nonfiction titles.” Senior vp and publisher Matt Baugher will acquire, manage, and edit each title, the first of which is slated to publish in November. “My vision is to hand-select an exclusive number of projects each year that are uniquely positioned to capture the interest of the reader through amazing experiences and the people who’ve lived them,” Baugher said. “Harper Select will be a natural extension of the HarperCollins Focus overall position in the marketplace—one that equips readers to lead a life of significance, […]
Follett to Develop Tools to Monitor Children’s Reading to Comply with “Parents’ Rights Bills”
Education technology company Follett plans to develop new features for school media center software Destiny to help customers comply with so-called “parents’ rights bills” being introduced across the US. An article in Forsyth County News earlier this month reported on changes the Georgia county is making “to increase parental involvement in a student’s book selections and expedite the process by which books that potentially contain sexually explicit material are challenged and removed.” The district contacted Follett “to find a way for parents to have more involvement in what their kids are reading at school.” Proposed solutions include allowing parents to […]
Pearson Rejects Revised Apollo Buyout; Shareholders Will Have to Wait for Management’s Promises
Private equity firm Apollo Global’s third offer to buyout Pearson, made on March 28, was “unanimously rejected” by the board, which turned down 884.2 pence per share (or roughly $8.8 billion). The board says the offer “significantly undervalued the Company and its future prospects,” though the stock market has generally disagreed with that assessment: The shares had been trading for between 600 and 650 pence a share for the few months prior to the offer, and have not sustained at the offer levels since late 2018 and early 2019. Share are down about 5 percent today on the news, trading […]