On Friday afternoon Hachette Book Group announced that it “has decided that it will not publish Woody Allen’s memoir A Propos of Nothing…and will return all rights to the author.” The cancellation followed a protest from HBG employees on Thursday that drew international media attention. The company noted in their statement that, “We are committed to offering a stimulating, supportive and open work environment for all our staff. Over the past few days, HBG leadership had extensive conversations with our staff and others. After listening, we came to the conclusion that moving forward with publication would not be feasible for […]
Simon & Schuster Will Not Attend Rescheduled Bologna Book Fair
As COVID-19 continues to spread and Italy in particular remains a hot zone, Simon & Schuster announced that they will forgo the rescheduled Bologna Book Fair, which hopes to convene starting May 4. The company said in a statement, “The health and safety of Simon & Schuster’s employees, as well as the well-being of our many friends and colleagues in our industry, is always our primary consideration. We appreciate that the Bologna Book Fair has been postponed until May, but after due consideration and out of an abundance of caution, Simon & Schuster has decided that its employees (US & […]
ViacomCBS Hopes For a Big Price for Simon & Schuster
A source helpfully — or hopefully? — tells the WSJ that ViacomCBS “will seek at least $1.2 billion for Simon & Schuster.” LionTree is advising ViacomCBS on the sale. While no one ever tells the press they are shopping a bargain, that would represent a very aggressive multiple. The best available yardstick for a company like this is Bertelsmann’s pending deal to acquire the remaining 25 percent of Penguin. They set an enterprise value (equity plus debt) of $3.67 billion, suggesting Bertelsmann is paying a multiple of about 6.5 times operating EBITDA. S&S just reported sales of $814 million for […]
In American Dirt Book Club Episodes, Oprah Puts “Herself on Trial”
That’s the assessment of AP reporter Hillel Italie, who attended the taping of the two-part filming of Oprah’s Book Club discussion of AMERICAN DIRT and the controversy around the book. The shows are available for streaming from Apple TV+ on Friday, March 6. “She turned the forum into a debate about the marginalization of Latino voices, the lack of diversity in publishing and the question of who is best suited to tell a given story.” The AP spoke to Winfrey after the taping and she said, “This has taken up a lot of my energy, a lot of her (Cummins’) […]
Book Expo Knows You’re Already Worried About Their Show (and Maybe Mad At Reed), So Issues Update, While Staying On Track
Book Expo officials are moving to get in front of community concerns about COVID-19, following the London Book Fair’s reluctant cancellation of their show. (Both shows are part of Reed Exhibitions.) Event director Jenny Martin writes in a statement, “The effect of the COVID-19 virus on the publishing business and our people is significant and difficult to navigate. Many industry events outside of the United States, have had to make difficult decisions about proceeding with their events. We understand the impact that has on the publishing industry and we want to be proactive and transparent about BookExpo.” For now: “BookExpo […]
The Shoe Drops at ViacomCBS, Which Will Explore Sale of Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster ceo Carolyn Reidy wrote to staff Wednesday morning “to let you know that today ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish announced that the company is beginning the process by which ViacomCBS will potentially sell Simon & Schuster.” Bakish was speaking at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference in San Francisco: “We’ve been conducting a portfolio review of our company. And coming out of that we’ve made the determination that Simon and Schuster is not a core asset of the company. It is not video based; it doesn’t have significant connectivity to our broader business. At the same […]