After just two issues, Astra Publishing House is shutting down its literary journal Astra Magazine. The book publishing side will remain intact. They write in a release that all magazine operations including the website “will come to a close by the end of 2022.” The magazine was launched in April by editor-in-chief Nadja Spiegelman and deputy editor Samuel Rutter. Leying Jiang, president of Astra Publishing House writes, “We are disappointed not to be able to further fund the magazine. In a very difficult year for publishing, we found that the format provided unexpected challenges and have decided to close the magazine […]
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S&S Refunds “Hand-Signed” Copies of Bob Dylan’s The Philosophy of Modern Song
On Sunday afternoon, Simon & Schuster offered refunds to customers who purchased what had been promoted as “guaranteed to be personally hand-signed” copies of Bob Dylan’s The Philosophy of Modern Song, after it was revealed that the books had been signed with an autopen. The books cost $599, with 900 copies available, and contained a note from S&S president and ceo Jonathan Karp attesting their authenticity. “This letter is confirmation that the copy of the book you hold in your hand has been hand-signed by Bob Dylan,” it said. Over the weekend, fans online compared signatures, revealing an assortment of […]
HBG Employees Oppose Return-to-Office Plan; Pietsch Responds
On Friday evening October 28, a group of more than 200 HBG employees—from entry level to directors—sent a letter to ceo Michael Pietsch and members of the Office Reopening Taskforce, opposing the company’s return-to-office mandate, slated to begin November 1. (The company has 1600 employees total.) The hybrid plan requires employees to work from the office two specific days per week. Hachette has been in a pilot period for six months, in which employees could decide to return to the office or defer. “During these six months, those who wished to be in office went in, collaborated in person and […]
Macmillan Extends Remote-Friendly Work Policy Through the End of 2023
Macmillan announced today that their US trade and shared services division will continue its “hybrid & remote-friendly” work policy all the way through the end of 2023. Employees whose work can be done remotely “have the flexibility to choose the number of days per week they work in the office, or choose to work fully remotely.” CEO Jon Yaged says in the announcement: “Two things are clear: people want flexibility and we continue to live in uncertain times. So, we’ll continue what has been working for us while we spend the next fourteen months evaluating the best way to engage […]
Book Critics Build Careers, But Can’t Make a Living
For this first in a series looking at compensation in different corners of the book business, we found that pay for book critics varies widely by publication and type of piece—but none of it is enough to live on. The financial struggle of being a book reviewer has real influence on the way books are seen, and the publishing industry as a whole. Reviews—whether they’re positive or negative, and whether they exist at all—can influence sales, and subsequently what books are published and how they’re marketed. Many sources we spoke to for this article—more than a dozen emerging and established […]
Initiatives: Electric Postcard Entertainment
Author and founder of kids and YA book packager Cake Creative Dhonielle Clayton will launch Electric Postcard Entertainment, an adult and YA packaging venture that will produce books, podcasts, film, and television with “darker themes and more ambitious narratives.” “Electric Postcard Entertainment opens doors for me to move into the adult and young adult crossover space with projects that continue our trademark blend of commerciality, diversity, and authenticity,” Clayton said. “I’m excited to be a launchpad for writers in this space and forge relationships with partners new and old to introduce more marginalized voices and exciting IP to the world.” In […]