Following on their 16-month investigation into the digital marketplace and the “unregulated power wielded by Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google,” the House Judiciary committee introduced five bills that would break up and significant restrict and constrain those tech giants. Each bill is has a Republican co-sponsor and the committee refers to the package as “bipartisan bills drafted by lawmakers on the Antitrust Subcommittee,” but that still doesn’t tell us where the Senate stands. Two bills in particular would bring significant relief to Amazon’s broad dominance of book publishing. The most dramatic bill, which applies only to companies that worth $600 […]
Legal
Briefs
Diversity Penguin Random House published their 2020 Social Impact Report, evaluating their “social impact commitment areas” of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion; Environment & Sustainability; and Free Expression & Joy of Reading. CEO Markus Dohle acknowledges in the introduction, “In some areas, we have a long way to go. Change is overdue when it comes to building a publishing industry that’s truly diverse and equitable—from the authors we publish to the employees we hire. We cannot erase the past, but we can—and will—do everything within our power to help build a more equitable and just world through the power of books […]
Legal: Continued Foundry Disagreement, AAP Publishers Sued US Over Tariffs
Both sides have now traded filings in the Foundry Media legal dispute — making clear that Yfat Reiss Gendell and Peter McGuigan have both agreed to the appointment of a temporary receiver over the agency’s, but each party wants the receiver to serve its particular agenda. Gendell wants a receiver authorized to sell Foundry’s assets, and asked the court to send the dispute to mediation. In a new filing, McGuigan states that he expects a receiver “would likely not have any other choice but to sue for, and collect any assets, claims or debts of Foundry,” including the collection of […]
People, Etc.: Dan Frank Dies at 67
Tiffany Liao joins Zando on June 9 as executive editor leading their young readers initiative. She was previously senior editor at Holt Children’s. Alisse Goldsmith-Wissman has joined Convergent as senior publicist. She was previously at Independent Publishers Group in Chicago. Caitlin Morrow has joined the Simon & Schuster special markets sales team as assistant manager. Martha Wydysh has been promoted to literary agent at Trident Media Group. Adam O’Brien has joined Apollo Publishers as an editor. Previously, he was editor at Sterling Publishing. Dan Frank, 67, editorial director of Pantheon since 1996, died on May 24 in Manhattan. Knopf evp […]
Gendell Agrees to Foundry Receiver, Asks Court to Allow Sale of Agency
Former Foundry partner Yfat Reiss Gendell told the New York Supreme Court that she agrees to and joins in former partner Peter McGuigan’s request for a temporary receiver to manage the agency’s affairs. The two continue to disagree on how to oversee Foundry’s business, with each blaming the other for the obstruction. Gendell’s new filing alleges that, “McGuigan continues to refuse to pay various service providers, such as Foundry’s transactional counsel, refuses to pay for rent and utilities for Foundry’s office, and refuses to authorize Foundry to make payments on its line of credit.” Significantly, Gendell also wants the court-appointed […]
People, Etc.
At Delacorte, Kelsey Horton has been promoted to senior editor and Alison Romig has been promoted to assistant editor. Merry Sun has been promoted to editor at Portfolio. Jordan Moblo has joined Netflix in the new role of director of literary, and is expected to hire a team under him. He was co-head of the creative acquisitions department at Disney. Renée Jarvis and Kima Jones both join Triangle House Literary as agents. Jarvis was at MacKenzie Wolf Literary; Jones is the founder of Jack Jones Literary Arts. Grace Ross has joined Acast as content development manager, acquiring new and existing podcast partners. […]