Rick Perlstein’s THE INVISIBLE BRIDGE has been subject to a number of controversies as the book publishes today, among them “sloppy scholarship, improper attribution, and plagiarism”, the NYT reports. Of the most serious charges, Reagan historian Craig Shirley accused Perlstein of plagiarizing several passages (the NY Post reported “at least 45 instances”) from Shirley’s 2004 book REAGAN’S REVOLUTION. Shirley’s lawyer Chris Ashby “cited 19 instances of duplicated language and inadequate attribution” in two letters to Perlstein’s publisher Simon & Schuster and demanded “$25 million in damages, a public apology, revised digital editions and the destruction of all physical copies of […]
People
Louise Braverman has been promoted to director of publicity for Penguin Books and Penguin Classics. Jennifer Schuster has been promoted to executive editor at NAL/Celebra. The Tarcher and Perigee imprints announced a number of promotions and new hires. Sara Carder has been promoted to editorial director, Tarcher, while Joanna Ng moves up to assistant editor. Brianna Yamashita takes on responsibility for Perigee as executive director of publicity and marketing in tandem with Tarcher. Kevin Howell has been promoted to senior marketing manager for both imprints, while Jillian McElgunn moves up to marketing coordinator. Finally, Lindsey Ruthen has joined as senior […]
Safari Books Now Fully Owned By O’Reilly Media, and More
O’Reilly Media has become sole owner of Safari Books, buying out Pearson’s 50 percent stake for an undisclosed sum (though it’s expected Pearson will announce how much it was paid in their next financial report later this year.) Safari, founded in 2001 as a joint entity between O’Reilly and Pearson, will continue to operate as an independent company, and no changes will be made to staff, product, offices, and operations. In a blog post about the change, founder and ceo of O’Reilly Media Tim O’Reilly said the company “came to believe that there are substantial opportunities for both organizations working […]
People, Etc.
Jason Weidemann has been promoted to editorial director of University of Minnesota Press. He succeeds Richard Morrison, who left after fifteen years at UMP to become editorial director at Fordham University Press last month. At Macmillan, Krista Loercher has been promoted to director, Amazon sales. Sam Caggiula has joined Skyhorse as senior publicity manager. Previously he was a publicist at Rowman & Littlefield. Former Bertelsmann executive Richard Sarnoff has been named head of KKR & Co.’s Americas media and telecoms team, as well as a managing director of KKR. Sarnoff, a former co-chairman of Bertelsmann’s U.S. division, has been a […]
Kensington Discloses 18-Month Terms Impasse With Amazon
Hachette’s ongoing terms dispute with Amazon has given cover for the WSJ to describe another recently resolved terms dispute between the retailer and a different, smaller publisher. Kensington ceo Steven Zacharius told the paper the company spent 18 months negotiating its latest deal with Amazon, which began in July and expires 12 months later. Discussions lasted so long, Zacharius said, because “each person got entrenched and didn’t want to budge. But at a certain point there has to be compromise.” Zacharius wouldn’t say why the talks dragged on so long but that it resulted in “a fair deal for both […]
Judge Cote Gives Preliminary Approval To Apple Settlement With States & Consumers
Despite reservations expressed earlier in a teleconference, Judge Cote gave preliminary approval to Apple’s settlement with the states and consumer class, which would see the company pay anywhere from $450 million if Apple’s appeal is denied to nothing if the appeal is completely reversed. The judge did find it “most troubling” that if the appeal is reversed and remanded to her court Apple would pay only $50 million. But in the 9-page order, Judge Cote said the plaintiffs “emphasize that they ‘strongly believe’ that the Remand Scenario is unlikely to occur,” with class counsel Steve Berman asserting this belief further in a July 30 letter. […]