News

The latest Open Book podcast interviews Colin Dickerman (editor-in-chief at Grand Central) his sister Laura Dickerman, author of the recently-published HOT DESK, which Colin helped to conceive. For the first time on the record, Colin discusses his work as the publishing consultant to the TV show Younger: “I went to college with Eric Zickland, who was a writer and producer on the show. He just kept calling me and saying, what about this? And so they would send me all the scripts and I would call into the writer’s room when they were talking through ideas. And it was incredibly […]

Oxford University Press is planning a round of layoffs, which, if approved, will affect 113 employees. According to a document obtained by The Bookseller, the layoffs are in response to “ongoing difficult trading conditions,” especially in the education and ELT divisions. The layoffs will mostly be focused on these divisions. A representative for the company said in a statement, “Like any organisation, we constantly adapt to changes within our markets. We have proposed some organisational changes which affect a small proportion of our overall workforce. We are currently undergoing a collective consultation process, and are working closely with impacted colleagues […]

Miami-based Mango Publishing is going out of business, founder Christopher McKenney announced in a letter to authors yesterday. The company took out high-interest loans during the pandemic, he writes, and since then have had to “navigate supply chain disruptions, high print price inflation, book market downsizing, losses from uncollectible accounts receivable, and more recently, even tariffs, while servicing the bank and other debts.” A team of consultants is managing the shut down, and the bank is liquidating all Mango assets “for their benefit.” The company has “exhausted all cash” and will not be able to pay down any debts or […]

A coalition of seven charitable foundations—led by the Mellon Foundation, and joined by the Ford Foundation, Hawthornden Foundation, Lannan Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Poetry Foundation, and an anonymous foundation—have launched a $50 million Literary Arts Fund, “an unprecedented effort to dramatically boost the essential yet critically underfunded nonprofit literary arts field in the United States.” Jennifer Benka is executive director. She was previously longtime president and executive director of the Academy of American Poets. Benka says in the announcement, “I’m grateful to the foundations that founded the Literary Arts Fund for the critical leadership role they’ve […]

Down & Out Books told authors by email that it is closing and will issue “no further payments” to authors. Books are being withdrawn from the marketplace and “rights will revert to their respective authors and editors in accordance with their contracts.” Owner Eric Campbell wrote in the email, “For 15 remarkable years, Down & Out Books proudly published nearly 1,000 titles, collaborated with over 500 talented authors, and earned more than 50 prestigious awards. Today, however, we must announce the closure of our operations.” The statement continues, “Regrettably, a sharp decline in sales since 2020 has made continued financial […]

As employees and librarians try to understand what’s going on during Baker & Taylor’s closure, which saw 523 employees laid off on Monday and 261 more due depart in the coming months, Baker & Taylor Publisher Services reports that the unit is currently excluded from the company’s “wind down,” according to a letter sent to client publishers on Tuesday. “BTPS has been handled separately,” the letter notes. “We remain fully operational, selling books and shipping orders from our warehouse.” BTPS operates from its own facility in Ohio — formerly Bookmasters — and supports more than 250 small presses. Separately, court […]