Penguin Random House released their “phase one” U.S. publishing programs audit, which investigated the identities of contributors — authors, illustrators, and translators — of titles published between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2021. Contributors were asked to self-identify, and 3,415 people participated. Initial conclusions were clear: “Our Contributor demographics do not reflect U.S. reader demographics when it comes to race and ethnicity. Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous representation is low, while white representation is overindexed. Significant growth in the underrepresented contributor populations is required to accurately reflect U.S. demographics.” The company noted, “The data also show a correlation between workforce […]
Distribution: Additions to IPG
Beginning January 1, Independent Publishers Group (IPG) will distribute Phoenix Books, Stygian Sky Media, and Imagine and Wonder‘s print titles (IPG already handled Imagine and Wonder’s digital distribution). Overcup Press will be distributed by IPG beginning March 1. Kitchen Ink Publishing is now distributed by IPG, as well.
People 11/16
In the Doubleday publicity department, Elena Hershey has been promoted to associate director; Tricia Cave has been promoted to publicity manager and Jillian Briglia has been promoted to associate publicist.
New Books Publishing November 16
Dave Eggers, David Baldacci and Charlie Jane Anders lead this week’s fiction releases, while nonfiction includes The 1619 Project, a memoir by Dwayne Wade, and diaries from Patricia Highsmith. Also out today are books by Bisi Adjapon, Tea Cooper, Claire Oshetsky and Gayle Jessup White, all excerpted in our Buzz Books 2021: Fall/Winter sampler. 18 new works of fiction https://bookshop.org/lists/new-fiction-publishing-november-16 https://shop.aer.io/publishers_lunch/cl/New_Fiction_Publishing_November_/220403 18 new nonfiction titles https://bookshop.org/lists/new-nonfiction-publishing-november-16 https://shop.aer.io/publishers_lunch/cl/New_Nonfiction_Publishing_November_/220404 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 […]
December Library Reads
The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale tops December's LibraryReads list.
Spotify to Acquire Findaway and Storytel Will Buy Audiobooks.com
Two big acquisitions will fuel hopes for players of scale to challenge Audible’s dominance in core markets. Spotify will acquire distributor Findaway as part of their goal to develop a meaningful presence in the audiobooks market, pending regulatory approval. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021; the terms were not announced. Findaway bills itself as the “world’s largest audiobook distributor,” and is a key player in distributing digital audiobooks to Apple, Google, Overdrive and others. The company also provides tools for independent authors to produce and distribute audiobooks and sells audiobook players to brands. “The […]