It’s time for the first tabulation of our annual aggregation of selective lists from all over — newspapers, reviewers, booksellers, librarians, book clubs, major awards and more — to provide a clear consensus on the year’s very best books. Last year Isabel Wilkerson’s CASTE led as “book of the year” from start to finish, and Brit Bennett’s THE VANISHING HALF was the clear top novel the entire way, but this year the leading picks are all tightly packed for now. In a bit of good news, a year ago when we first listed the top 11, four of the six […]
UK Judge Allows Ambramovich’s Libel Suit Against Harper to Move Forward
Last week UK High Court Mrs Justice Tipples made a preliminary ruling that allows Roman Abramovich’s libel lawsuit against HarperCollins and author Catherine Belton over the book PUTIN’S PEOPLE to proceed to trial. The judgment was limited to analysis of “the meaning of the passages” that Abramovich’s alleges are libelous, to “determine the impression that would have been conveyed to the ordinary reasonable reader.” Mrs Justice Tipples found that the book asserts “the claimant is under the control of President Vladimir Putin and, on the directions of President Putin and the Kremlin, he has had to make the fortune from […]
Robinson’s Sons Explore Possibilities to Challenge His Will
The late Dick Robinson’s sons are “exploring avenues” to challenge his will, the WSJ reports. While Reece Robinson signed a document in July waiving his right to challenge the will, according to a legal filing seen by the paper, Ben Robinson declined to do so. In response to a follow-up summons, Ben and Reece responded together on November 12, “asking New York Surrogate’s Court…for documents regarding the will, written in 2018, and the right to examine related witnesses.” Thomas Rice, a lawyer at Baker & McKenzie who represents Scholastic, said: “Creating legal delays and distractions isn’t in the best interest […]
Publishers Say Internet Archive Is “Stonewalling,” Ask Court to Compel Discovery
With fact discovery in the copyright infringement lawsuit brought by major publishers against the Internet Archive set to end on December 17, the publishers have complained to Judge John Koeltl that the IA “is stonewalling, hoping to run out the clock.” They asked for a conference to have the judge compel production of missing documents. The attorney writes, “IA has not disputed the relevance of the documents. Instead, IA is simply stonewalling, prejudicing plaintiffs in depositions and case development.” The letter outlines seven categories of documents they are still looking for, saying they “waited several weeks or more for IA […]
Representation
Author of Children of Blood and Bone, Tomi Champion-Adeyemi has moved representation to CAA, listing Michelle Weiner for publishing rights. In May Deadline had reported that the author had signed with WME, moving over from ICM, which sold her trilogy to Holt Children’s in 2017. (If approved by the government, CAA is set to acquire ICM.)
Gendell and McGuigan Pursue Mediation
The complicated and long-running legal dispute between former Foundry Media partners Yfat Reiss Gendell and Peter McGuigan may be headed towards resolution. Attorneys for both parties filed a letter asking Judge Joel M. Cohen to extend the current dates for discovery (set to end in February 2022), “to pursue mediation and settlement discussions in the Commercial Division Alternative Dispute Resolution Program.” That process “is basically a mediation program” run by the Court, though ultimately “settlement…is purely voluntary.” Gendell had asked the Court to refer the matter to mediation in May, though at the time McGuigan declined.