The Supreme Court let stand a verdict in favor of publisher Simon & Schuster and author Guy Lawson’s Arms and the Dudes: How Three Stoners from Miami Beach Became the Most Unlikely Gunrunners in History (the basis of the movie War Dogs). Albanian Shkelzen Berisha had sued for defamation, but lower courts found he was a public figure with respect to stories about Albanian weapons-trafficking, and did not meet the high bar of showing that the author acted with “actual malice” in any alleged errors. That is the standard set in the significant 1964 Supreme Court decision, New York Times […]
Controveries: Cohen’s Book Has New Publisher, Title
Richard Cohen’s work of history, cancelled in May by Random House due to “the publisher’s sensitivities” over how he represented the roles of Black people and African Americans, has a new publisher — along with a new title. Simon & Schuster will publish the book, retitled Making History, in May 2022, and Weidenfeld & Nicolson has rescheduled their edition as well. Cohen tells the Guardian the added material “has improved the book” and says of the new title, “I actually think it’s better than The History Makers.” The title change came after a cease and desist letter from Julieanna Richardson, […]
Bookselling
Barnes & Noble will close their store in Fort Wayne, ID’s Jefferson Pointe Shopping Center, where they have been an anchor tenant, on August 22. The company will open a new location in the Orchard Crossing Shopping Center in September. Australian bookseller Dymocks aims to add 25 new locations over the next three years, significant growth from their current roster of 50 outlets, CEO Mark Newman told Inside Franchise Business Executive.
The Office: Managers Should Schedule Work-from-Home to Protect Diversity
For companies still reckoning with how to implement newly-flexible work schedules given that most employees do not want to be in the office five days a week, this HBR piece by Stanford economics professor Nicholas Bloom may be of interest. Bloom’s research confirms that “about 70% of firms, from tiny companies to massive multinationals like Google, Citi, and HSBC, plan to move to some form of hybrid working.” Significantly, however, “It turns out that who wants to work from home after the pandemic is not random. In our research we find, for example, that among college graduates with young children […]
People: Quarto CEO Resigns
After less than a year as CEO, Polly Powell has resigned. Controlling shareholder CK Lau will once again serve as interim group CEO. Despite the abrupt departure, Powell provides a cheery statement: “I came to Quarto to make a difference, and I think I have achieved that, so my job is done. Quarto is a fabulous company with outstanding people and it is now firing on all cylinders. The publishing program is super-strong and the numbers are looking good.”
Legal: Former Bonnier Books UK CEO Found In Contempt
Former Bonnier Books UK CEO Richard Johnson, fired in 2018 for what the company called gross misconduct, has now been found in contempt of court after threatening to release secret “evidence” against the company, the Bookseller reports. For months, Johnson failed to respond adequately to a January motion for injunctive relief after he threatened that he had “taped a lot of conversations with senior people in Bonnier over the years and the conduct and those tapes are as clear as anything.” Johnson was ordered to pay Bonnier’s court costs, and additional consequences are still possible. Johnson belatedly submitted a witness […]