Narges Mohammadi, author of White Torture: Interviews with Iranian Women Prisoners, received the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize "for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all."
Archives for October 2023
Third Quarter Deals Ebb Overall, Gain At the Highest Level
Consumer book sales have continued to fall versus last year and the big pandemic highs, but are still running at their third-best level in years. (Circana Bookscan has YTD units at 527 million, down about 4 percent from 549 million units a year ago.) Meanwhile, investment by publishers in future product both aligns with and diverges from the consumer sales trend. As a reminder, Q1 deals were weak — due in large part to the strike at Harper Collins and continued conservatism at Penguin Random House — and then rebounded in Q2, helped by later dates for the book fairs, […]
Acquisitions: PRH UK Buys Hardie Grant UK
Penguin Random House UK has acquired Hardie Grant UK. Hardie Grant’s two imprints, Hardie Grant UK and Quadrille, will continue operating and report to Ebury managing director Joel Rickett. Managing director Stephen King will leave at the end of 2023 and finance director David Ersapah will depart in July 2024. The Bookseller reports that there are no other plans for layoffs. At Hardie Grant, there will be no changes to the company in other territories. In a release, PRH UK ceo Tom Weldon said, “We are excited about the impact of adding Hardie Grant UK to Penguin Random House and […]
Distribution: Wizards of the Coast; Hampton Creek Press
On December 31, Penguin Random House will cease distribution of Wizards of the Coast, which publishes Dungeons & Dragons titles. WotC books have been distributed by PRH since 2005. In a memo to retailers, PRH wrote, “Depending on the product, please ensure that the vendor of record for Wizards of the Coast LLC titles is changed to one of their new distributors listed here: [Distributors]” Hampton Creek Press will be distributed by Simon & Schuster worldwide, beginning November 1.
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2023 MacArthur Fellows
The MacArthur Foundation announced their annual “Genius” fellows, including writers Ada Limón (whose most recent book is The Hurting Kind), Manuel Muñoz (The Consequences), and Imani Perry (South to America). Also named is Diana Greene Foster, author of The Turnaway Study: Ten Years, a Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having—or Being Denied—an Abortion.