Longtime publishing and distribution executive Gilbert Perlman, 72, died on May 26, “suddenly, but on his own terms,” his children write. “He spent his final moments outside on a beautiful day, sitting in an Adirondack chair in the yard he loved so much. For someone who adamantly didn’t want to waste away or make things ‘harder’ on his family, this was fitting.” Perlman was an executive at Random House in the 1990s, including serving as evp of Ballantine and the Randomsoft software line, before setting up the first Random House Client Services distribution division in 1997, where he was president. […]
Wiley Buys Emerald Publishing for $452 Million
Wiley announced the significant purchase of UK-based Emerald Publishing from Cambridge Information Group in a cash transaction valued at £337 million, or $452 million. The deal brings Wiley over 480 journal brands—giving them a portfolio of approximately 2,500 journals—along with 8,000 book titles and additional content. Wiley indicates it brings additional depth particularly in economics, business, finance, accounting, management, strategy, education, engineering, information and knowledge management, operations, public policy and environmental management. CIG acquired Emerald in 2022, prior to which the publisher was a private, family-run business. Wiley touts the deal as value at seven times adjusted ebitda, inclusive of […]
Storytel Acquires Overamstel
Storytel has acquired Overamstel, based in The Netherlands and Belgium, which they call “one of the company’s core markets.” Founded in 2007, Overamstel had sales of €17.4 million in 2025. Current ceo Martijn Griffioen will continue in his role following the acquisition. Though Storytel’s core business is audio publishing, their book publishing division had record sales for 2025 of SEK1.274 billion, or approximately $130 million.
French Fee On Amazon Book Shipments Survives Final Legal Challenge
France’s Conseil d’Etat, the country’s highest court, ruled on Wednesday in support a law first passed in 2022 that sets a minimum delivery fee of €3 for online book orders of less than €35. The law was designed to support local brick-and-mortar stores from unfair competition from Amazon, which had been charging a delivery fee of only one euro cent on book deliveries. France has long limited book discounting, and in 2014 they banned free shipping on discounted books–leading to Amazon’s minimal charge. Last December, the EU Court of Justice had returned the matter to French courts for further evaluation, […]
Judge Rules Termination of NEH Grants Was Unconstitutional
In a lengthy, detailed and often incredulous 143-page opinion, District Court Judge Colleen McMahon found in summary judgement that the mass termination of over 1,400 National Endowment for the Humanities grants in April 2025 by DOGE “was unlawful because it was undertaken in violation of the First Amendment, in violation of the equal protection component of the Fifth Amendment, and without statutory authority.” Additionally, “DOGE officials lacked statutory authority to identify, select, or direct the termination of NEH grants” and “the resulting terminations were ultra vires [Latin for beyond the powers].” The two cases were brought by the Authors Guild […]
Harper Gains in the Quarter
News Corp. reported earnings for their third quarter ended March 31, with sales at Harper Collins up 8 percent ($41 million) to $555 million, a new record for the quarter. Results were “driven by higher physical and digital book sales led by Rachel Reid’s Game Changers,” and helped by a $6 million gain from recent acquisitions and $12 million from currency exchange. (Adjusted sales were therefore up 4 percent.) EBITDA rose 14 percent to $73 million due (up $9 million). Increased ebook sales led to a 2 percent increase in digital sales. The company reports that digital made up 26 […]