Independent publisher Gibbs Smith is now entirely employee-owned, after workers finalized a deal to purchase the second half of the company on August 31. In 2015, cofounders the late Gibbs and Catherine Smith sold half of the company to employees, and in the new deal the company’s employees purchased Catherine Smith’s 50 percent share via a third-party trustee. “We are excited to fulfill Gibbs and Catherine Smith’s dream of becoming a fully employee-owned company,” ceo Brad Farmer, representing the company’s executive management team, said in a release. “Being 100% ESOP owned is a dynamic change in the company’s status and is […]
2022 Dayton Literary Peace Prize Finalists
The following finalists were named for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, which "honors writers whose work uses the power of literature to foster peace, social justice, and global understanding." Winners and runners up will be announced on September 27.
Nosy Crow to Launch US Company
UK children’s publisher Nosy Crow will launch a US company, with books first publishing in May 2023. Nosy Crow Inc. will publish books for ages 0-12, including board books and middle grade nonfiction, and will be distributed by Hachette Book Group. All picture and board books will feature free audio downloads. John Mendelson is president of the new company. He was previously svp of sales at Candlewick, which had a co-publishing deal for a Nosy Crow imprint in the US since 2011. Nosy Crow group ceo Kate Wilson will oversee both the UK and US companies. “I am delighted to […]
New Books Publishing September 13
Candice Carty-Williams and Ian McEwan lead this week’s fiction releases, while nonfiction includes new work from Nina Totenberg, Jann Wenner and David Milch. Also out this week are new titles from Buzz Bissinger, Rachel Aviv, Joël Dicker, Cin Fabré and Ling Ma, all excerpted in our Buzz Books 2022: Fall/Winter sampler. 18 works of fiction https://bookshop.org/lists/new-fiction-publishing-september-13 https://shop.aer.io/publishers_lunch/cl/New_Fiction_Publishing_September_/224194 19 nonfiction titles https://bookshop.org/lists/new-nonfiction-publishing-september-13 https://shop.aer.io/publishers_lunch/cl/New_Nonfiction_Publishing_September_/224195 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 […]
Oprah’s Book Club Pick
The next Oprah's Book Club selection is That Bird Has My Wings, by Jarvis Jay Masters.
DOJ’s Post-Trial Briefs Restate Their Case
In a confident and assured filing of “findings of fact and conclusions of law,” the Department of Justice restated for the final time their case to block Penguin Random House’s acquisition of Simon & Schuster. “The proposed acquisition is precisely the march toward concentration and monopsony power that Congress enacted the Clayton Act to prevent. One entity’s control of almost half of the nation’s anticipated top-selling books threatens competition in multiple ways. Authors’ advances would fall—advances that they use to pay their bills and that reflect compensation for their work. The contractual terms publishers offer authors would worsen. Authors would […]