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After revelations of plagiarism in Dr. David Agus’s THE BOOK OF ANIMAL SECRETS, which will be delayed as the author corrects the copied passages, the LA Times found more evidence of plagiarism in Agus’s previous books. The paper found more than 120 instances plagiarism in THE END OF ILLNESS (Free Press, 2012), A SHORT GUIDE TO A LONG LIFE (S&S, 2014), and THE LUCKY YEARS (S&S, 2016), all published by Simon & Schuster. Agus’s co-author Kristen Loberg took the blame. In a statement to the Times, she said, “I accept complete responsibility for any errors my work may have contained. […]

In the wake of reports of classic books by Roald Dahl and Ian Fleming being revised, R.L. Stine responded to reports that he made changes to his Goosebumps series to remove potentially offensive language. Though many reports imply that the novels are currently being edited and reissued, including changing numerous instances of the word “crazy,” Scholastic stated that the changes took place when the classic novels were republished years ago. “I’ve never changed a word in Goosebumps. Any changes were never shown to me,” Stine wrote on Twitter. Many books in the series were re-released in paperback from 2008-2011, and […]

Following increases in starting salaries at the other large trade publishers, Penguin Random House told employees on Tuesday that it will also raise their entry level salary on April 3, to $48,000. That “will apply to incoming and existing employees in most non-warehouse locations.” As a result, “minimum salaries for other, non-entry-level roles where minimum salaries have been established will also increase accordingly,” and “to address compression of salaries, employees at adjacent salary levels will also receive adjustments.” Second-level non-exempt roles will start at $53,000, while at the higher end senior marketing and sales managers will make at least $76,000 […]

Hachette Book Group is offering a voluntary resignation program to most US employees over 50 who have at least 15 years of service with the company. A representative told PL, “Employees who choose to participate will receive a favorable package of severance benefits that are not usually available to people who leave the company. The decision to take part is absolutely voluntary.” (Reportedly that package includes a year’s severance.) HBG added, “this is not a permanent policy and there is an end date for eligible employees to elect to participate in the program.” They did not respond to queries about […]

Last week Indigo posted additional information to their website FAQ about their Feb. 8 cyberattack. The retailer notes that it will not pay the ransom. “The privacy commissioners do not believe that paying a ransom protects those whose data has been stolen, as there is no way to guarantee the deletion/protection of the data once the ransom is paid. Both US and Canadian law enforcement discourage organizations from paying a ransom as it rewards criminal activity and encourages others to engage in this activity,” they wrote. “Additionally, we cannot be assured that any ransom payment would not end up in […]

David B. Agus, MD, author of THE BOOK OF ANIMAL SECRETS, which was scheduled for publication by Simon & Schuster tomorrow, will recall the book amidst plagiarism concerns. In a statement, the author said, “I was recently made aware that in writing The Book of Animal Secrets we relied upon passages from various sources without attribution, and that we used other authors’ words. I want to sincerely apologize to the scientists and writers whose work or words were used or not fully attributed.” He asked S&S to halt publication of the book “in all formats” and will rewrite the plagiarized […]