Bloomsbury Publishing has acquired the digital video and business assets of Artfilms, the video streaming service of Contemporary Arts Media. The collection of films from around the world includes documentaries, interviews, and masterclasses. Bloomsbury noted in a release, “This acquisition aligns with the overall mission of Bloomsbury Digital Resources to serve a global community of students, scholars, instructors, and librarians by providing creative online research and learning environments that deliver excellence and originality.” Bloomsbury Digital Resources managing director Kathryn Earle said: “The content aligns beautifully with our existing strengths – most notably in the visual and performing arts — and […]
Deals
Acquisitions: Netflix Buys Roald Dahl Story Company
Netflix has a deal to acquire outright the literary works of Roald Dahl and the company that manages and exploits them, the Roald Dahl Story Company. After licensing adaptations of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Matilda The Musical, Netflix said, “These projects opened our eyes to a much more ambitious venture – the creation of a unique universe across animated and live action films and TV, publishing, games, immersive experiences, live theatre, consumer products and more.” Based in the UK, the Roald Dahl Story Company has 26 full-time employees, led by managing director Luke Kelly. Separately, ILP said at […]
Reese’s Book Club Partners with Google Assistant
The newest deal for Reese’s Book Club and Hello Sunshine will direct fans to purchase recommended titles from the Google Play store. They are pairing with Google Assistant and its universe of smart devices; the verbal instruction, “Hey Google, read with Reese’s Book Club” will be answered with commentary and reviews from Reese Witherspoon and personalized reading recommendations and other features. In its early days Reese’s Book Club struck a very successful exclusive relationship with Audible. As we reported exclusively in February when the club launched its new app and dedicated website, the Audible partnership was ended. Hello Sunshine ceo […]
Harry Stories
Prince Harry’s book deal with Penguin Random House will provide a steady stream of rumors and stories. Over the weekend, the Daily Mail reported — based on what seems to be a single source — that, plausibly, the overall deal was for four books and, less plausibly, that it includes a second memoir to be published “when his granny dies.” Lawyers for the prince told the paper that their claims were “false and defamatory” and a statement indicated, “Prince Harry has no plans to publish a second memoir after Queen Elizabeth’s death.” There was no direct denial of an agreement […]
Initiatives: Bloom Books Adds New Author
Bloom Books, the Sourcebooks line that offers a “joint publishing model” and started with EL James as “keystone author,” has announced their next partnership: fantasy romance author Scarlett St. Clair. They will have full rights to her entire backlist starting this fall, featuring the Hades x Persephone series, and will publish her new original novel, KING OF BATTLE AND BLOOD on November 30. A TOUCH OF DARKNESS, the first in her self-published series, is a TikTok driven success, recording print sales of approximately 58,000 copies this year, through Lightning Source (with ebook sales figures not available). Sourcebooks says, “National chains, […]
Initiatives: S&S Submissions Guide
Simon & Schuster launched a Submission Selector, a database of S&S editors searchable by category and imprint. In an email to agents, ceo Jonathan Karp wrote, “The idea for this site came out of a conversation that our publishers were having related to remote work and how to make certain that agents ‘know’ all of our editors…. Our hope is that this database will simplify the submission process for you at Simon & Schuster as you quickly and easily find the perfect match for your projects.”