Following his roundup to staff, Hachette Book Group ceo Michael Pietsch wrote to authors and agents as well and said the company is “heading into 2022 with optimism and excitement.” He notes, “While 2021 had many challenges, it was a better year for our industry than 2020, as virtually all bookstores and other retailers were open all year, and we saw a resurgence of sales at chain and independent booksellers and gift stores.” Still, supply chain challenges meant “like all publishers we had periods when we were unable to reprint and restock books with our accustomed speed.” The company has […]
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2022’s First Discuss Guest: Literary Agent Heather Jackson
Join this year’s first Discuss guest, literary agent Heather Jackson, online at this Publishers Marketplace link Wednesday, January 12 at noon Eastern for your chance to get the inside scoop on publishing from an agent’s point of view, how she works with editors and authors, how she evaluates manuscripts, and more. As a trade editor for Crown, St. Martin’s, Rodale, and other houses for 20+ years, she acted as the creative midwife to multiple dozens of New York Times bestselling authors and titles, including: Tim Ferriss, Jillian Michaels, Suzanne Somers, Tara Stiles, Joy Bauer, Rick Hanson, Dr. Robert C. Atkins, […]
HBG Rounds Up 2021, Expects Some Continued Supply Chain Disruptions in 2022
In a letter on Monday, Hachette Book Group ceo Michael Pietsch welcomed staff back to work after the holidays and reviewed the company’s notable moments from 2021, including the acquisition of Workman, the hiring of Carrie Bloxson as vp of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and the delay of returning to the office. Pietsch also mentioned the year’s “unprecedented disruptions to the global supply chain, to our domestic printing program, and to our own warehouse operations supply chain.” He notes, “These issues have eased up somewhat, but they were not fully resolved by the end of the peak holiday season. We […]
Norman Mailer Collection To Be Published By Skyhorse
Skyhorse Publishing will release an anthology of the late Norman Mailer’s essays after Random House declined to make an offer for publication. One of the author’s sons Michael Mailer told the AP the publisher suggested a collection as part of the planned commemoration in 2023 of the hundredth anniversary of Mailer’s birth. “The family, along with Mailer biographer J. Michael Lennon, ‘put together a proposal for a collection of political essays on democracy.'” Mailer said Random House “liked [it] and then decided later not to proceed due to objections, putatively, from certain junior executives.” Michael Wolff had claimed in a […]
Representation
Linda Kaplan at Kaplan/Defiore Agency will represent Disney Publishing Group for translation licensing.
Most Employees To Be Laid Off In Bankruptcy Sale of France Loisirs Book Club
On December 13, the Paris Commercial Court ruled that bankrupt book club France Loisirs will be taken over by French investment fund Financière Trésor de Patrimoine. As part of the deal, Le Monde reports that 90 percent of employees will be laid off, with the company retaining “forty-four employees on permanent contracts out of 484.” The book club currently has 122 stores and 22 dedicated sections in stores across France — all but 14 stores will close. (A decision has not yet been made about 13 locations in Belgium and Canada.) France Loisirs has been struggling financially for over six […]