Ian Fleming Publications announced a newly-commissioned short novel, reusing the title ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE from 60 years ago, to be published in the UK on May 4. It is billed in celebration of the coronation of King Charles on May 6. “Young Bond” author Charlie Higson wrote the new 144-page book, though he didn’t have much time: “When Ian Fleming Publications came to me with the idea of writing an adult Bond story a little more than a month ago I was thrilled – until I realised it had to be ready for the coronation in May. Getting […]
International News
London Book Fair May Move 2024 Dates to Avoid Bologna
The London Book Fair is “investigating” moving their 2024 dates, after the Bologna Children’s Book Fair announced it would hold its fair less than a week before, the Bookseller reports. LBF announced in October that the next fair would be April 16 – 18, 2024. BCBF announced this month that it would hold its 2024 fair April 8 – 11. A change to the LBF dates would be contingent on availability of the venue, the Olympia London. “In any event, we will strive to ensure minimal disruption to our visitors,” LBF director Gareth Rapley told The Bookseller. “It is a shame that […]
Lagardere Board Approves Radio Spinoff
As Lagardere and Vivendi both take steps to ease the path towards approval of their pending merger by the European Commission, Lagardere’s board has approved a plan floated earlier to preserve the independence of their radio division. The company intends to spin the radio division (comprising Europe 1, Europe 2 and RFM) into a separate, limited-partnership holding company. Arnaud Lagardère would be “indirectly the general partner and personally the managing partner,” and he “would be solely responsible for supervising the managers and teams of the radio division and would be the ultimate decision-maker on editorial policy.” There had been longstanding […]
New Strategy: Vivendi Will Sell Editis Outright
Vivendi announced it is abandoning its plan to spin off publishing company Editis into an independent, publicly traded company, and instead they are negotiating to sell the division outright. Vivendi “received several offers for the sale of 100 percent of the shares of Editis,” and has “decided to enter into exclusive negotiations” with International Media Invest (IMI), a subsidiary of billionaire Daniel Kretinsky’s Czech Media Invest (which owns a number of prominent French magazines). Kretinsky’s portfolio also includes stakes in the newspaper Le Monde and the TV group TF1. The sale of Editis is designed to win approval from regulators […]
Bertlesmann Subsidiary Gruner + Jahr to Sell or Close 23 Magazines, Cut 500 Jobs
Bertelsmann’s magazine division Gruner + Jahr — which they sold to Bertelsmann-controlled TV division RTL in 2021 — will retrench significantly, RTL Deutschland announced Tuesday. The company plans to close or sell 23 publications “against the background of the rapidly changing media landscape and the challenging macroeconomic situation” and focus on their core brands. Approximately 500 jobs will be eliminated at the Hamburg, Germany offices over the next few years, and they expect another 200 jobs to be transferred to new owners, from a total workforce of about 1900 people. “Costs will be reduced in all areas, especially in the […]
PRH UK Proposes Closing Center for Distro Clients
Penguin Random House UK has proposed closing its third-party distribution center in Grantham in 2025 due to rising costs and “supply chain challenges”, the Bookseller reports. The warehouse handles distribution for more than 40 publishers and has a staff of approximately 200, who are at risk of being laid off. In an email to staff, ceo Tom Weldon said, “While we are very proud of our work with our third-party partners, our findings have shown that it is not commercially viable for us to continue running this aspect of our operations. As a result, we are proposing to close this […]