Judge Royce C. Lamberth set a hearing for 1:00 PM on Friday, via videoconference, to hear arguments on the Department of Justice’s request for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction blocking the release of John Bolton’s book. Meanwhile, papers filed by Bolton’s attorneys explain why — no matter how the judge rules — release of the book cannot be stopped. “There is nothing that Ambassador Bolton can do to stop the book from becoming public on June 23; indeed, it is already public.” As Simon & Schuster ceo Jonathan Karp attests, “More than 200,000 copies of the book have […]
UK Wholesaler Bertram’s Is In Bankruptcy Liquidation
As long expected and feared, UK wholesaler Bertram’s has gone into bankruptcy administration and is well down the road of liquidating. The “majority” of its 459 employees have been fired effectively immediately “with a small number retained to manage the winding down of operations.” Some sales of the parts are in already in process, including dumping of any of the remaining inventory that they can, further hurting publishers who are owed money: “Sales have been agreed in principle with two unconnected parties for the tangible assets and unencumbered stock of Bertram Trading Limited and for the intangible assets of Education […]
DOJ Asks to Put Bolton’s Ketchup Back in the Bottle with Request for Temporary Restraining Order
Now that major media have published full coverage of John Bolton’s forthcoming book THE ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENED, including reviews and an authorized excerpt, the government has filed an additional motion on top of their Tuesday breach of contract suit asking for a temporary injunction blocking release of the book. They ask for a hearing “at the Court’s earliest convenience on Friday, June 19, 2020.” The government insists that, “Disclosure of the manuscript will damage the national security of the United States.” They claim the book “contains instances of information that, if disclosed, reasonably could be expected to cause serious […]
Showing Futility of DOJ Lawsuit, The Bolton Book Is Everywhere In the Press
There’s nothing like a lawsuit to speed the release of a book’s details. After the Department of Justice’s filed suit late Tuesday against John Bolton for breach of contract in proceeding with his book, on Wednesday the book was showing up everywhere. The NYT “obtained” a copy and posted both a journalistic article as well as a scathing review by Jennifer Szalai. That opened the floodgates, with the WSJ following with an “exclusive excerpt” and briefer story, a review from NPR, coverage and a review from the Washington Post, and still more from CNN. Notably, none of the accounts are […]
New Books Publishing June 16
This week brings another strong showing in summer fiction. As in previous weeks, our sample Bookshop and Aerbook store carousels provide easy displays of books publishing today in need of attention and support, featuring: 16 new works of fiction https://bookshop.org/lists/new-fiction-publishing-june-16 https://aerbook.com/store/publishers_lunch/New_Fiction_Publishing_June_16/217154 11 new nonfiction titles https://bookshop.org/lists/new-nonfiction-publishing-june-16 https://aerbook.com/store/publishers_lunch/New_Nonfiction_Publishing_June_16/217155 More new children’s/YA books https://bookshop.org/lists/new-children-s-titles-publishing-in-june https://aerbook.com/store/publishers_lunch/New_Childrens_Titles_Publishing_in_June/216958 We consult a number of sources in compiling our weekly lists and PM members can see our lists for the coming three months through this reference page. But if you want to make sure your key titles are on our radar, now you can use this form to submit brief details as […]
DOJ Sues Bolton for “Publishing A Book Containing Classified Information” Without Approval
Donald Trump’s bluster about former National Security Adviser John Bolton facing criminal liability notwithstanding, on Tuesday the Department of Justice filed a civil suit against Bolton on three counts of breach of contract and fiduciary duty. They say he is publishing his book with Simon & Schuster THE ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENED on June 23 without having received the written clearance and approval from the government required under agreements he signed when serving in the administration. Notably, the government is not suing S&S, though one of the prayers for relief is to “bind” those “who are in active concert or […]