Open Road’s latest behind-the-scenes in publishing podcast is a recorded conversation from September between Simon Lipskar at Writers House and Open Road ceo David Steinberger. Lipskar discusses learning about the business of the business in his early days as an agent: “All I did was go to lunch and ask questions…. What I learned was nothing surprising, but it all had to do with budgets being based off of gross receipts. That was it. There was nothing more to it. So everyone’s budgets were being built off of gross receipts, and executives’ bonuses were contingent upon delivering on budget. So […]
Harper Strikes Deal to License Nonfiction Books for AI; Makes Offer to Authors
Harper Collins has negotiated a licensing agreement with the one of the major AI companies “to allow limited use of select nonfiction backlist titles for training AI models to improve model quality and performance.” The company has briefed some agents on the deal and started by making offers to a modest set of authors to sign a contract amendment agreeing to participate in the deal. They say in a statement to PL, “While we believe this deal is attractive, we respect the various views of our authors, and they have the choice to opt in to the agreement or to […]
Giving Thanks and Moving Ahead
It’s been a topsy turvy time recently for all kinds of reasons, which has delayed our annual marking of the occasion. But even in difficult times it’s important to make room for gratitude and appreciation of anything good. So with a mix of humility and irrepressible hope for the future, we admit to our aging: Publishers Marketplace is now a mature-sounding 23 years old — launched at another time of significant uncertainty, months after the first dot-com bubble burst and just weeks after 9/11 (and that means Publishers Lunch will turn 25 next spring). As I express regularly, we’re here […]
Bookscan Analyst Predicts “Strong Holiday” Sales
Following solid year-over-year gains in October for print book sales, Circana Bookscan analyst Brenna Connor foresees a strong selling season for the holidays. In her weekly analysis published Friday, Connor wrote: “My 2024 holiday outlook is positive. I believe the book market will see an improvement in sales compared to last year. Consumer engagement with books is high in 2024 and the market is poised for a strong holiday season, with sales volume growing between 1 percent and 4 percent compared to last year, with stronger MSRP dollar growth. This holiday there will be a focus on value for many […]
Mike Shatzkin, RIP
The beautiful, brilliant, boisterous, kind, generous, optimistic, unconventional and wholly original Mike Shatkzin, 77, died on the morning of November 7 at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, following the recent onset of a rare cancer. In his final days, Mike was lifted by an outpouring of love and appreciation, as his ICU room overflowed with visitors from near and far and his email and texts flooded with messages. Even as his body struggled, Mike’s resting face in his hospital bed was often a smile. Mike was indelible. If you were fortunate enough to spend time with him, his voice […]
DK Acquires Canelo
DK has acquired UK-based digital publisher Canelo, founded by Iain Millar, Michael Bhaskar and Nick Barreto in 2015. The company says the acquisition is part of a plan “to broaden its publishing scope, adding Canelo’s thriving fiction lines to its world-renowned illustrated, non-fiction and children’s fiction titles.” DK ceo Paul Kelly said, “This partnership is a strategic evolution for DK, integrating Canelo’s renowned author-first approach and proven genre expertise with our global platform. Together, we’ll engage new readers and support talented authors by creating compelling, accessible fiction and non-fiction with a reach that spans DK’s global distribution networks. We see […]