Simon & Schuster’s “larger public responsibility as citizens” will be tested yet again over the book by Senator Josh Hawley — since Regnery Publishing “is proud to stand in the breach with him” and intends to publish THE TYRANNY OF BIG TECH on May 4. S&S is the distributor for Regnery. Distributors generally have no control over the lists they service, and those contracts usually do not allow the distributor any selectivity over working on particular titles. (Update: We originally reported, incorrectly, that S&S also sells the Regnery list. Regnery handles their own sales in the US, while S&S sells their […]
Authors
Publishers Are Holding or Bifurcating Foundry Payments
Following our story from last week on authors receiving bad checks from Foundry Literary + Media for payments due — along with advocacy from the Authors Guild — we have learned that multiple large publishers have moved quickly to protect authors’ funds. The Penguin Random House royalty department told a representative of Foundry in an email shown to PL that they “have had several authors request bifurcated payments” and would be granting those requests. (When bifurcating payments, the publisher pays directly to the author their share — usually 85 percent — and pays the agency commission only directly to the […]
People, Etc.
Obituaries National Book Award winner Barry Lopez, 75, died Christmas Day following a lengthy battle with prostate cancer. Publishing veteran Roland Elgey, 65, died recently of colorectal cancer. He was 65 years old. His 40 years in publishing included serving as president of Que Computer Publishing and svp of sales at Que/Sams, Hungry Minds. Later in his career he worked in publishing services, most recently as vp for business development at Integra Software Services. Biographer Scott Donaldson, 92, died on December 1 of lung cancer. Poet Jean Valentine, 86, whose collection Door in the Mountain, won the 2004 National Book Award, […]
Controversies: PRH Canada Employees Object to New Peterson Book, and More on the BN Hack
At Penguin Random House Canada, the originating publisher of Jordan B. Peterson, at least some employees objected to the news that the company will publish his second book in March. The company held a virtual town hall on Monday after announcing publication, “during which executives defended the decision to publish Peterson while employees cited their concerns about platforming someone who is popular in far-right circles,” Vice reports based on speaking to four employees. The publisher said in a statement, “We held a forum and provided a space for our employees to express their views and offer feedback. Our employees have […]
Authors Demand Audible Stop Aggressive Exchange Policy that Reduces Earnings
Following an accounting adjustment in October, authors who produce and sell their own audiobooks through Audible’s ACX became aware of the significant extent to which “returned” and “exchanged” audiobooks — encouraged by Audible itself — have been cutting into their proceeds. Returns and exchanges turned out to comprise “15% to 50% or more of lost sales over time” for many authors. One author, Susan May, published a lengthy post about her experience. More authors have traded stories and strategies in a Facebook group “to come together to persuade ACX & Audible to give us a fair deal on our audiobooks.” […]
People, Etc.
Gisselda Nuñez will join HarperCollins in the new role of vp, diversity, equity, and inclusion on September 21. Nuñez will “lead and advise the company on DE&I initiatives, creating a strategy/vision that aligns with HarperCollins’s values and culture.” She was previously executive director, head of diversity strategy at Morgan Stanley. Amanda Armstrong-Frank has been promoted to the new role of director of workplace culture and diversity initiatives at Simon & Schuster. Armstrong-Frank will “advise, advocate, and act to improve workplace culture, including diverse representation at all levels,” reporting to both Jonathan Karp and the ViacomCBS office of global inclusion under […]