The Hollywood Reporter says that “among the strongest contenders” for William Morris’s five board seats if the merger with Endeavor goes through are literary department co-head Jennifer Rudolph Walsh–plus president David Wirtschafter, COO Irv Weintraub, motion picture head John Fogelman and ceo Jim Wiatt. Multiple accounts estimate WMA’s revenues at $200 million, and Endeavor’s at about $100 million, though they are slated to have five board seats each. The Wrap says WMA currently has 300 agents and Endeavor employees 75–with unattributed estimates guessing that as many as 100 agents will be fired and/or leave.HR
Agency News
Vig Sues Prince
Vigliano Associates filed suit against musician Prince in LA Superior County Court earlier this week, alleging that he designated them as the “exclusive agent with respect to the negotiations of a publishing deal” but then executed his deal directly with Atria for 21 NIGHTS and another book. Claiming wrongful avoidance of payment, Vigliano Associates is seeking commission due of $200,000, plus attorneys fees and other damages.Radar In other California lawsuits, Anna Nicole Smith’s half-sister Donna Hogan has sued Phoenix Books over her book TRAIN WRECK: The Life and Death of Anna Nicole Smith. As reported by TMZ, on the one […]
WMA-Endeavor Merger "Imminet"
After many rumors and denials, the Hollywood Reporter says that the merger of William Morris and Endeavor is expected shortly, barring any “last-minute glitches”–though they imply the deal still requires approval from each agency’s board. They add: “Although details of the structure of the new entity have not been revealed, Endeavor’s Ari Emanuel is expected to assume day-to-day control of the merged entity as CEO, with WMA chief James Wiatt taking on an oversight title like chairman.” The magazine also expects “a wrenching period of assimilation” as the agencies merge staff.Hollywood Reporter
Another Agents Roundtable
Editor Jofie Ferrari-Adler’s latest industry interview session for Poets & Writers is with agents Anna Stein, Jim Rutman, Maria Massie, and Peter Steinberg. Q: Do you guys think the industry is healthy? Just give me a yes or no around the table. STEINBERG: No.MASSIE: No.RUTMAN: I don’t think so.STEIN: No.RUTMAN: But I do wonder if there’s ever been a point when you could get four people to say yes.STEIN: But here’s the silver lining: It’s unhealthy enough that it’s an exciting time. It’s broken enough that publishers and agents and everyone has to change. Everyone has to rethink what they’re […]
People
Rebecca Gradinger has left Janklow & Nesbit Associates and launched Finchley Road Literary, a boutique agency specializing in literary fiction, up-market commercial fiction, narrative non-fiction, memoir, humor and pop culture. (She has also worked as a scout at Mary Anne Thompson Associates and a lawyer practicing media and intellectual property law at Frankfurt Garbus Kurnit Klein & Selz). Kevin Howell has been named associate marketing manager for Tarcher/Penguin, reporting to Brianna Yashimita. He was previously bookselling and audiobook review editor at Publishers Weekly. Shelf Awareness reports on Saturday’s memorial service for Baker & Taylor senior VP of merchandising Jean Smercz, […]
Barnett Skeptical that Publishing Alternatives Would Entice His Clients
A number of the approximately 75 registered AAP publishers had left the organization’s annual meeting yesterday due to the Clinton-delayed program before the final event, a lunchtime q&A between Twelve publisher Jon Karp and attorney Bob Barnett (who joked that it was “defamatory” when Pat Schroeder introduced him as an agent.) Asked “what makes for a good political book,” Barnett recommended “the more personal and the less policy, the better.” He agreed with the notion that in political books, “sadly, the far right and the far left are the ones that sell. Particularly in this economy…the center and the sensible […]