Big tech has had a voracious appetite for content to train their AI systems and these cash rich nation states all rationalized their way to theft at scale because it was faster and more convenient than legal solutions — and the legal and legislative system is incapable of holding them accountable in any reasonable timeframe. Thanks to its own lawsuit along with its reporting, the NYT documented the scale of illegal hubris: “At Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, managers, lawyers and engineers last year discussed buying the publishing house Simon & Schuster to procure long works, according to recordings […]
Archives for April 2024
People 4/8
Eric A. Schmidt will join Basic as executive editor on April 29th. Schmidt was most recently senior acquisitions editor at the University of California Press.
Distribution: Walker Books Australia
Lerner Publisher Services will distribute Walker Books Australia in the U.S. and Canada beginning August 1.
Harper Partners With App for Read-Watch Experience
Harper Collins has partnered with Storiaverse, a mobile app for adults that “create[s] immersive, animated content in a patent-pending ‘read-watch’ format,” according to a release. Independent writers and illustrators partner to create stories on the platform. Storiaverse will “adapt portions of several titles” from Harper. Authors who have stories on the platform include Maxim Loskutoff, Lyndsay Ely, Brian Evenson, and Lindz McLeod.
Obituary: Lynne Reid Banks
Lynne Reid Banks, 94, author of The Indian in the Cupboard, died of cancer on April 4.
Forthcoming: Gretchen Whitmer’s Memoir; New Roald Dahl-Inspired Series
Simon & Schuster announced it will publish Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer‘s memoir, TRUE GRETCH: What I’ve Learned About Life, Leadership, and Everything in Between, on July 9. The book covers the “global pandemic, showdowns with high-profile bullies, and even a kidnapping and assassination plot.” Mindy Marques acquired North American rights from Jay Mandel at WME. On October 22, Viking Children’s will publish THE TWITS NEXT DOOR, “a brand-new story inspired by Roald Dahl’s The Twits,” written by Greg James and Chris Smith and illustrated by Emily Jones. In partnership with The Roald Dahl Story Company, the book is the first in […]