Roger Stone might be the first American in a long time to face the possibility of jail for writing in a book. On February 21 when Stone went before Federal Judge Amy Berman Jackson to apologize for a threatening post about her on social media, she had placed a blanket gag order on Stone going forward. “The prohibition includes, but is not limited to, statements made about the case through the following means: radio broadcasts; interviews on television, on the radio, with print reporters, or on internet based media; press releases or press conferences; blogs or letters to the editor; […]
Legal
Judge Calls Stephen Elliott’s Lawsuit “Deficient”
Only one one Stephen Elliott’s three claims against S***ty Media Men list creator Moira Donegan, that of defamation, survived Friday afternoon’s pre-conference on the motion to dismiss. Judge Lashann Dearcy Hall quickly mowed through Elliott’s other claims of negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress, with the plaintiff’s counsel agreeing to withdraw those. Team Donegan came to play, with lead attorney Roberta Kaplan arguing in the Eastern District courthouse in Brooklyn, and Donegan watching from the first row. Elliott did not attend, and as it transpired, his lead attorney, Andrew Miltenberg, was out of town. Even the defamation claim, which […]
FTC to Actually Do Its Job and Monitor Competition In Big Tech
Remember when the US enforced antitrust laws against large companies dominating particular markets (rather than turning antitrust on its head to punish smaller companies trying to preserve a competitive market in the face of predatory pricing from a giant vertical monopolist)? Well be still your jaded but still beating publishing hearts: On Tuesday, the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition created a task force “dedicated to monitoring competition in US technology markets, investigating any potential anticompetitive conduct in those markets, and taking enforcement actions when warranted.” That Technology Task Force includes approximately 17 attorneys. FTC Chairman Joe Simons said in […]
People, Etc.
At Johns Hopkins University Press, Davida Breier has been promoted to director, Hopkins Fulfillment Services and Hopkins Sales Partners, and Terrence Melvin to customer service and operations manager, Hopkins Fulfillment Services. Heidi Vincent has joined as business development and sales manager, Hopkins Sales Partners. Most recently, she was vice president of marketing for books at National Geographic. Ellis Avery, 46, author of works including The Last Nude and The Teahouse Fire, has died. Book Expo Rachel Maddow will host the Book Expo adult author breakfast on Thursday, May 30, and announce her new book. The panel will feature: Malcolm Gladwell (Talking to Strangers), Karin Slaughter […]
Author Cliff Sims Sues Trump For Trying to Block His Book, Aims to Protect Federal Employees’ Free Speech
Cliff Sims, former White House aide and author of the recently-published book Team of Vipers: My 500 Extraordinary Days in the Trump White House, filed suit against President Trump and the United States government on Monday in a District of Columbia Federal court. The action alleges that President Trump “seek[s] to unlawfully penalize and impose a prior restraint upon Mr. Sims with respect to the publication and discussion of his book…and any information he learned as a result of serving as a federal employee.” The filing says the suit is designed “to protect the unequivocal and distinct constitutional rights of […]
People, Etc.
Liz Kelsch has been promoted to director of marketing for nonfiction and mystery at Sourcebooks. Picks Reese Witherspoon‘s book club pick for February is Jasmine Guillory’s The Proposal. Distribution Rizzoli New York will distribute Pavilion Books, Pavilion Children’s, Portico, Pitkin, and the National Trust via Penguin Random House Publisher Services, starting July 2019. Previously these lists were distributed by IPG. Bookselling A new bookstore, Still North Books, will open in Hanover, NH in the space that belonged to Dartmouth Bookstore, which closed last year after 146 years of operation. The new owner Allie Levy, who previously worked in the marketing department at HMH, says […]