“The [NY] Times has become a book-deal factory,” a journalist there tells Vanity Fair. “I don’t think the Times has ever seen this number of requests” from staff for book leave. The magazine reports that one of the most recent deals is Rachel Abrams and James B. Stewart writing about Les Moonves and CBS and Les Moonves, for Ann Godoff at Penguin Press. All those book deals can drain reporting resources, and staff has not necessarily been following protocol. In early May executive editor Dean Baquet and assistant managing editor Carolyn Ryan sent a memo that “was a stern and […]
Deals
Apple’s Soon-to-Be Revealed Streaming Service Features Many Book Adaptations
As Apple prepares to explain their long-in-the-works streaming video service at a March 25 event in Cupertino, CA, there’s more word in advance regarding one book-related project. Last August a deal was announced for a “sizable script-to-series commitment” to develop Min Jin Lee’s PACHINKO as a series. Now comes confirmation that Apple has made an eight-episode series order — backed by a “premium budget” and ambition to rival Netflix’s The Crown, in making the series in Korean, Japanese and English. Other books in development at Apple for streaming include Hilde Lysiak and Matthew Lysiak’s HILDE CRACKS THE CASE and William […]
London: So Many Debuts, So Few Big Deals
We’ve run out of polite synonyms for modest and soft, so we’ll start our final look at the dealmaking patterns leading into the London Book Fair with what jumped out as most distinctive. Debut fiction is always a closely-watched market bellwether, particularly as the mainstream fiction market appears to languish. The good news is that this year’s five weeks of sales and announcements ahead of the fair has recorded the most debuts in the past four years. At the same time, however, reported deals for substantial amounts (major and significant deals) are far lower than at any other point: 2019 […]
Deal Counts Are Modest Heading Into LBF, With Only Moderate Investment In Debut Fiction
With dealmakers converging on the London Book Fair next week, it’s time for us to bring our traditional dose of statistically-based reality to the frenzy of pre-Fair deals coverage. As always, this is preliminary, with two more business days of deal reports to log before we provide you fuller analysis next Tuesday. So far, the deals market is looking modest, and in line with recent trends: – Overall pre-LBF dealmaking in the US (measured over the five weeks ahead of the fair, starting Monday, February 4) is on trajectory to be even with or slightly below last year’s level. – […]
People, Etc.
San Francisco Chronicle books editor John McMurtrie announced on Twitter on Wednesday, “I got laid off.” He added, “The bright side? More time for reading.” (Separately, arts and entertainment editor and Sunday datebook editor Leba Hertz tell us she is retiring at the end of the week, by her choice.) We queried editor-in-chief Audrey Cooper about what McMurtrie’s dismissal means for their coverage, and she writes: “We still plan on having robust coverage of books, including reviews. This personnel decision is not a reflection of the importance of that content for The Chronicle.” Lisa Erwin has been promoted to director […]
New EL James Novel The Mister to Publish on April 16
EL James has finally written a new book — not just another retelling of the Fifty Shades of Grey series — and THE MISTER will be published in English on April 16. Vintage will once again publish it as a trade paperback original in North American and the open market, with PRH UK’s Arrow publishing in the UK and Commonwealth, excluding Canada. Vintage and Anchor publisher Anne Messitte acquired rights from Valerie Hoskins at Valerie Hoskins Associates, with Susan Sandon buying UK rights. Vintage will issue a Spanish language edition in North America later in the spring, and ILA is selling […]