The European Union has closed its antitrust investigation into Apple’s “anticompetitive behavior” blocking competing ebook and audiobook apps from selling directly within the app without paying Apple’s 30 percent tax. The complaint focused on Apple imposing “the mandatory use of its own proprietary in-app purchase system” and the company’s restrictions on allowing other apps to “inform iPhone and iPad users of alternative cheaper purchasing possibilities available outside the App Store.” The matter was closed because the unnamed complainant, a distributor of e-books and audiobooks, withdrew the complaint that it launched in 2020. “The closure of an investigation is not a […]
The Strand Union Votes to Authorize Strike
The Strand union, part of UAW Local 2179, has voted to authorize a strike as they bargain for a new contract. Seventy-two percent of members participated, with 92 percent of the bloc voting yes. According to UAW Local 2179 vice president Will Bobrowski, who previously worked at the store, the union has been bargaining since August and has extended their contract three times. The current contract applies through Thanksgiving (when the store is closed) and, notably, does not cover Black Friday. The union does not have plans for a walkout at this time, but Bobrowski told PL that workers are […]
PubWest Joins With IBPA
Independent publisher associations Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) and PubWest will combine under the IBPA name, effective July 1. According to a release, the organizations have long collaborated and had overlap in their membership. The combined entity will allow the associations to better advocate for independent businesses. “Bringing together IBPA and PubWest will allow the two organizations to strengthen their member benefits, trade market programming, networking opportunities, and education so that we can provide one destination for all members’ association needs,” the release says. PubWest will cease operations on June 30, and its membership and programming will be incorporated into […]
Authors Talk: Juhea Kim
City of Night Birds (Ecco, November 26, 2024.) Editor: Deborah Ghim. Agent: Jody Kahn. Juhea Kim is the author of the novel Beasts of a Little Land, a finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize and shortlisted for the Yasyana Polyana Prize. A graduate of Princeton University, her writing has been published in Granta, Times Literary Supplement, The Independent, Zyzzyva, Guernica and elsewhere. Born in Korea and raised in Portland, Oregon, Kim now lives in London. How did you find your agent? I worked in publishing in the early 2010s as an editorial assistant. After I wrote a short story for […]
Submit Your Spring/Summer Season Preview Listings!
As always, our Buzz Books 2025: Spring/Summer anthology–and Publishers Lunch–will include a comprehensive list of notable upcoming books. If you haven’t done so already, please send information about your top titles publishing February through August 2025–including title, author, imprint, pub date, and ISBN–to our news team by Friday, November 22. Fiction submissions can be sent to Erin Somers (Erin@publishersmarketplace.com) and nonfiction to Katy Hershberger (Katy@publishersmarketplace.com).