If you are looking for a delightful digital stocking stuffer, we have just added a fun new option at Publishers Marketplace: Now it’s easy to give a PM Quick Pass as a gift. You can buy a Quick Pass Gift Certificate, and you’ll get an emailable gift receipt with redeemable code. Or for something weightier — a good 6.7 pounds worth — our definitive book on THE TRIAL: The DOJ’s Suit to Block Penguin Random House’s Acquisition of Simon & Schuster remains an amazing document for any publishing library. As NY Magazine noted, “It’s like the Mueller report for publishing […]
Quarto to Go Private
As we suggested well over a year ago, there has been little reason for Quarto Publishing to continue operating as a publicly traded company on the London Stock Exchange — and on Thursday morning, the company announced a plan to go private. CK Lau and his Honk Kong-based company 1010 Printing Limited already have a controlling 50.08 percent stake in Quarto, with lead minority investor Andrea Giunti Lombardo owning 22.34 percent. The stock trades very lightly, and fell substantially at the end of August when Quarto reported a 16 percent decline in sales for the first six months of their […]
Multiple Titles Vie for Overall Book of the Year
With almost 25 lists counted so far (and likely another 25 or more to go before the end of the year), our annual aggregation of the very best of the “best books of the year” is taking shape, right on schedule. The good news is that there are a number of novels getting honors, with titles by Nana Kwame Adheu-Brenyah, R.F. Kuang and James McBride tied at the top for now, and works by Paul Murray, Ann Napolitano and Jesmyn Ward are close behind. Safiya Sinclair’s memoir has a clear lead among nonfiction titles, and the historical pattern makes it […]
Vivendi Finalizes Takeover of Lagardere
Following a second promised sale (of Gala magazine to Groupe Figaro), Vivendi announced Tuesday that it has officially closed its deal for a controlling interest in Lagardere. Vivendi’s executives say in the announcement, “As we do for all our businesses, while preserving its integrity, we will support Lagardère in its development and the transformation of its businesses. Together, we will strengthen our international presence in the fields of creation, content and distribution. We are delighted to start a fruitful collaboration, bringing all our activities to new heights.” Vivendi owns 60 percent of Lagardere stock, and just over 50 percent of […]
Sourcebooks and PRH Form Callisto China
Sourcebooks has joined with the Penguin Random House North Asia office to create Callisto China. The new line will publish a selection of Callisto’s titles in the local language. When PRH acquired Callisto’s assets in May in a Sourcebooks-led deal, Sourcebooks ceo Dominique Raccah identified international expansion as a clear growth opportunity. She says in the announcement, “Callisto has developed an extraordinary line of books which have never had exposure to an international audience. This new collaborative partnership with PRH North Asia brings Callisto to the Chinese market in a really comprehensive way.” PRH North Asia already distributes Sourcebooks and […]
Saying the Quiet Part Out Loud On Generative AI
As we have noted recently, the various AI companies (and their backers) have dutifully filed comments with the US Copyright Office explaining why they believe training their systems on copyrighted work is fair use and “just math.” So it’s notable that vice president of audio at Stability AI Ed Newton-Rex left the company recently and made clear at the Cerebral Valley AI Summit he believes those arguments are wrong. (He oversaw their music creation product, Stability Audio.) He resigned “because I don’t agree with the company’s opinion that training generative AI models on copyrighted works is ‘fair use’.” As he […]