Subsequent to our brief note from Monday that Harper’s Magazine editor James Marcus has left the publication, Marcus tells PL that he was fired on Friday afternoon, for “opposing the publication of Katie Roiphe’s cover story in the March issue.” The article, “The Other Whisper Network: How Twitter feminism is bad for women,” drew criticism online in January before it was published, over suggestions that Roiphe intended to reveal the identity of the creator of the “Sh—y Media Men” list. That controversy led to the list’s creator Moira Donegan identifying herself in her own article for The Cut. Marcus gave us […]
How Publishing Works
Skyhorse Employee Unionization Vote Falls Short
A bid to unionize Skyhorse employees has fallen short, with 18 votes in favor of joining United Auto Workers Local 2110, and 28 against. The months-long union drive sought to increase employee compensation, restore personal time off and sick days that had been reduced, provide greater job security (noting in 2017 the company “laid off 12 employees with little to no warning”) and ensure Skyhorse complies with OSHA laws following complaints of working during water outages, and contending with facilities in “disrepair,” among other areas of negotiation. Twenty-three additional ballots were challenged by the union proponents, though it appears that would not affect […]
Skyhorse Employees to Vote on Unionizing This Week
The recent wave of unionization by media companies is now encompassing book publishing. Approximately 60 Skyhorse Publishing employees will vote November 30 on whether to join United Auto Workers Local 2110, the NY Daily News reported. Local 2110 is the same union that The New Press joined in 2001 — the last book publisher to unionize — and also includes some HarperCollins employees. (You can view the most recent Harper collective bargaining agreement here.) The bargaining unit, led by copyeditor Terry Buck, said that unionizing will lead to better health benefits, more overtime, lighter workloads, and better diversity hiring goals. […]
Chris Jackson: “‘Diversity In Publishing’ Doesn’t Exist–But Here’s How It Can”
Publisher of One World Chris Jackson gave a speech to the Association of American University Presses in 2016 that was adapted into an essay which is included in former Bloomsbury Press publisher Peter Ginna’s just-released anthology, What Editors Do: The Art, Craft, and Business of Book Editing. LitHub posted the thoughtful essay, via the University of Chicago Press: “Rather than just cranking up the engine on a typical publishing imprint, my dream is to treat it in a prefigurative way—to create, in a small corner of the Random House building, the model for what I think all of publishing should look […]
Simon & Schuster Cancels Milo’s DANGEROUS
Just one week after the publication date for Milo Yiannopoulos’s DANGEROUS was pushed back from March 14 to June 13 at the author’s request (while he appeared to admit he had yet to “submit the manuscript”), Simon & Schuster cancelled publication of the book. The company’s statement, issued Monday afternoon, reads in full: “After careful consideration, Simon & Schuster and its Threshold Editions imprint have cancelled publication of Dangerous by Milo Yiannopoulos.” That decision came after the revelation over the weekend of comments from January 2016 in which Milo appeared to approve of men having sex with underage boys. Simon & Schuster’s announcement […]
People, Awards, Etc.
Susan Ruszala has resigned from her position as president of NetGalley after 10 years with the company developing the business, and is exploring both consulting and full-time positions. She can be reached via sruszala@gmail.com. Fran Toolan has taken over day-to-day operations of NetGalley and “will continue to indefinitely.” VP, director of publicity at Simon & Schuster Children’s Jennifer Romanello is leaving on September 15, and will join Emi Battaglia Public Relations as a partner on October 1. (Romanello and Battaglia worked together for 20 years at Warner Books and Grand Central.) S&S Children’s president Jon Anderson writes, “In the two years she has been […]