In a masterpiece of confusion and contradiction from FT chief business commentator John Gapper, Andrew “The Jackalope” Wylie commentates: “Publishers have overpaid for the front-list to increase revenues without an eye to margins and profits. If they get it wrong again, they will only increase the book industry’s malady.” But “despite his Odyssey deal,” Wylie assures Gapper “he does not want…e-book rights to be split from print rights by authors and agents.” Also from our Can You Believe He Said That Department, Amazon executive Steve Kessel tells The Bookseller, “We are not out there contacting agents. [Except for the ones […]
Agency News
Good, Evil and Jack-All
While the UK media is stuck in their cliched mode of writing about Andrew Wylie’s Jackalicious adventures–today’s Independent offers up three stories all amounting to little–some trade wag is having a lot of fun. Under the Twitter handle “EvilWylie” have come a string of zingers starting last Friday afternoon with “All your contracts are belong to me! muah ha ha ha ha.” New followers are rewarded with exclusive rights grants (“Evil Wylie has granted you exclusive rights to write like @margaretatwood writing like Stephen King”) there are numerous special offers: “Sizzling summer deals! Evil Wylie just posted e-book rights to […]
On Wylie’s Odyssey, Backlist Royalties, and More
In a bulletin posted this morning, the Authors Guild tells members their “understanding” is that Andrew Wylie and his recently-announced Odyssey Editions “as agent and publisher is taking no more than it would as an agent. That is, Wylie/Odyssey is limiting its total compensation to its rate for commissions.” The Guild tells us they are “confident” about the accuracy of this understanding. Of course that raises again the question of what makes Odyssey a publisher instead of an agency making e-only deals, but the publisher himself remains on vacation. Many other elements of the deal remain opaque, including how Odyssey’s […]
Odyssey Editions Fallout: Random House Puts Business Dealings with Wylie Agency On Hold, Macmillan CEO “Appalled”, and More
The fallout over Andrew Wylie’s entry into the e-book business with the help of an exclusive deal with Amazon continues, with publishers and independent booksellers expressing their displeasure – and in one Big Six house’s instance, some forceful action. In a statement released yesterday afternoon, Random House has indicated that The Wylie Agency’s decision to sell e-books exclusively to Amazon through its new Odyssey Books company “undermines [Random House’s] longstanding commitments to and investments in our authors, and it establishes this Agency as our direct competitor.” As a result, “Random House on a worldwide basis will not be entering into […]
Wylie Agency Launches eBook Company, Gives Amazon Exclusive on First Titles
Andrew Wylie has made good on threats to create his own company to distribute ebooks by making deals directly with etailers rather than traditional publishers, announcing the launch of Odyssey Editions. In the first announcement, Odyssey will issue ebook versions of select titles from some of the key authors and literary estates The Wylie Agency represents, including John Updike, Salman Rushdie, Martin Amis and Hunter Thompson–and has given Amazon a two-year exclusive. The 20 titles announced so far including the Rabbit tetralogy from John Updike, MIDNIGHT’S CHILDREN and LOLITA by Vladimir Nabokov. Many of these titles are appearing in digital […]
People, Etc.
Among approximately 35 layoffs at the San Diego Union Tribune: books editor and art critic Robert Pincus. The paper describes the process of “reshaping our newsroom” which includes new hires and revised vision of what the paper should cover. While promising “coverage of pop and classical music, theater and fine art” and a new “critic-at-large who ventures beyond entertainment and the arts,” there’s no mention of books coverage or a replacement for Pincus.Editor’s noteVoice of San Diego on layoffs Dorling Kindersley deputy ceo Andrew Phillips is taking over as president of Penguin International, one of the posts vacated by David […]