Independent bookstores in France are protesting the influence of Hachette Livre’s conservative owner Vincent Bolloré. Bolloré’s Vivendi bought control of Hachette parent company Lagardère in 2023. Bookstore owners say it’s impossible to boycott the publisher completely, since they are largest publisher and book distributor in the country. But the protest campaign has included cutting back on Hachette Livre titles, stocking them on lower shelves, and a “bookmark rebellion” in which people “hide bookmarks inside paperbacks in large commercial stores with messages such as ‘boycott Hachette.'” Le Pied à Terre, an independent bookshop in Paris, has started limiting orders of books from […]
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Executive Order Eliminates Agency That Supports Libraries
A new executive order issued Friday called for the elimination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the nation’s only federal agency for supporting libraries. The office of 75 workers administers grants to libraries throughout the US. The executive order reads: “the non-statutory components and functions of the following governmental entities shall be eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law, and such entities shall reduce the performance of their statutory functions and associated personnel to the minimum presence and function required by law.” The IMLS had requested grant money of approximately $255 million for fiscal 2025, and […]
Ceiling Debris Falls At LBF International Rights Center
To some people in the book business, the sky is always falling. On Wednesday at the London Book Fair’s International Right Centre they were proven right, as part of the ceiling literally fell from above. Agents reported seeing debris falling from the ceiling, but no one was hit. Tables were relocated and business resumed as usual afterward. The IRC remains open on Thursday. A spokesperson for the fair told PL, “We were made aware yesterday morning of the presence of debris in part of the IRC due to the ongoing construction works at Olympia. We take this issue very seriously […]
Netgalley to Launch Consumer Platform Booktrovert
Netgalley will release a standalone consumer marketing website called Booktrovert in the second quarter of this year, the company announced today. According to a release, Booktrovert will help readers “celebrate their love of books by participating in digital giveaways, special promotions, and fun bookish activities.” Publishers, authors, and PR firms can start setting up book giveaways–which can be public or limited to certain audiences–in advance in early April. “Publishers have long asked how they can best utilize NetGalley’s tools for their consumer marketing efforts, and it’s no secret publishers, authors, and readers alike are seeking more options for secure ebook […]
Sally Kim On Shifting the Culture at Little, Brown
The NYT interviewed Little, Brown president and publisher Sally Kim about her first year running the division. Kim says she has hired 24 new people “which is reflected in every different department including art, marketing, publicity and editorial.” (She had laid off seven people early in her tenure, including several longstanding editors, and then Algonquin was put under the Little, Brown umbrella, resulting in more departures.) Other changes include cancelling the imprint’s big standing acquisition meeting, and restructuring meetings “so everybody gets a turn to speak” and “buying more books as paperbacks to make them more affordable to readers.” The […]
Authors Guild Urges NEA Grantees and Applicants To Hold Tight; EOs Likely Unenforceable
Donald Trump’s January 20 and 21 executive orders to government agencies to terminate grants promoting DEI or “gender ideology” have sent NEA grant recipients and applicants—both organizations and individual authors—into confusion over the past few weeks. Making the landscape vaguer still is a preliminary injunction blocking those executive orders, in a case brought by higher education organizations and the city of Baltimore. Authors Guild president Mary Rasenberger advises that the NEA’s new rules and mandated “assurance of compliance” that new grant applicants are required to sign are likely unenforceable due to vagueness and unconstitutionality. In particular, new regulations have appeared […]