Book discounts in France are limited to no more than 5 percent by law and in 2014 they banned free shipping on discounted books. So instead Amazon and others have charged as little as one cent for shipping. Seven years later, the government has decided something must be done, so the National Assembly is considering a new law — which everyone admits targets Amazon — that would impose a minimum charge for shipping books to be set by the economic and culture ministries. The law would also make online platforms “differentiate more clearly between” new and used books. Though Amazon […]
International News
Planeta Hires Pera to Lead US Office in Miami
Grupo Planeta has hired Cristóbal Pera as vp and publisher, “to reinforce and revitalize the Group’s editorial presence in the US market,” leading an office in Miami that will reopen in January 2022. The company will “consolidate its operations in the United States and Puerto Rico” there and plans to “focus its editorial program on a curated selection tailored to the market in the United States.” Most recently, Pera was publishing director at Vintage Español. Planeta ceo for Latin America José Calafell says in the announcement, “The market for books in Spanish in the US has undergone a profound transformation. […]
Imprints: More PRH UK Lines to Publish Paperbacks As Penguins
At Penguin Random House UK, three paperback lines will publish under the Penguin brand and colophon in the future, to “leverage” the better-known brand. Transworld’s Black Swan and Corgi imprints and Cornerstone’s Arrow will all make the switch, the Bookseller reports. But it is a branding change only: “There are no internal structural implications to this development. Nor are any roles in the company affected by it.”
Acquisitions: Hachette UK Buys Arcadia
Hachette UK has acquired independent publisher Arcadia Books, which will operate within the MacLehose Press imprint at Quercus. Associate publisher Katharina Bielenberg will take over as publisher at Arcadia. Since the death of founder Gary Pulsifer in 2016, the company has been run by Piers Russell-Cobb at MediaFund. Quercus noted in the announcement: “Arcadia has since its inception been passionately committed to publishing a wide and diverse range of voices, with an especially strong list of international literature in translation.”
Acquisitions: Saga Egmont Adds German Publisher
Digital publisher Saga Egmont has acquired German audiobook publisher Audiobuch Verlag, making them the largest audiobook publisher in Germany.
International: Fest and Schieder to Leave Rowohlt for DTV
Alexander Fest, long-serving publisher at Germany’s Rowohlt until stepping down in 2014 to work as editor at large, is leaving the company at the end of January 2022 after more than 20 years, to join DTV as consulting publisher in spring 2022. Buchmarket observes that, “With this, the traditional company is losing a piece of its DNA.” CEO of Holtzbrinck Germany Alexander Lorbeer says in the announcement, “I regret and respect Alexander Fest’s personal decision. Even if he will be with the publisher until the beginning of next year, I would like to express our special thanks to him today for his […]