On Wednesday Donald Trump announced a 90 day pause on most of the administration’s new tariffs, along with an increase in the tariffs on goods from China. (China’s retaliatory counter tariffs are 84 percent.) Correcting the information yesterday sourced from the ABA post’s, Canada has not yet levied any tariffs on books imported from the US, after soliciting comment and hearing appeals from the book industry. Books had been listed as a possible category for tariffs on a Canadian notice of intent to impose counter-tariffs.
Imprints: Amen Editions
Andrews McMeel has launched Amen Editions, a new Christian imprint publishing “faith-based inspirational, self-care, gift, and activity books.” They plan to release 8-10 titles each year. The first titles were released in January. Kirsty Melville, Andrews McMeel ceo, said, “At a time when life is increasingly frenetic and intense on multiple levels, the timing of the release of Amen Edition titles is ideal. The range of offerings, designed to inspire, bring peace, and offer authentic community, will be welcomed by an impassioned and engaged audience.”
Obituary: Harry Lerner
Lerner Publishing Group founder and chair Harry Lerner, 93, died on April 8. Lerner began his publishing career as a GI in Germany when when he published a guidebook for fellow servicemen. In 1959 he began publishing children’s books and launched the company’s first imprint, Carolrhoda Books, with his first wife, Sharon Lerner, in 1969. He ran the company until 1998, when his son Adam Lerner took over.
Sarah Wynn-Williams Testifies Before Congress About Meta
Sarah Wynn-Williams, whose whistle blower account of working at Facebook CARELESS PEOPLE was published last month, will testify before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee on Wednesday about how the company undermined national security to build their business in China. Meta attempted to suppress the book and Wynn-Williams’ promotion of her book was blocked in an interim award by an emergency arbitrator. This is her first public comment since that arbitrator’s ruling. She says in her introductory remarks to congress that she is testifying despite the arbitration ruling because “the American people deserve to know the truth.” But Meta spokesperson Andy Stone […]
More on Tariffs for Book Production Materials and US Exports
The American Booksellers Association published an explainer on how the new tariffs will affect the book world. As previously reported, standard printed books imported into the US are exempt from the new tariffs. However, the cost of producing books—and thus, book prices—could go up, if publishers use ink, pulp, or paper imported from other countries, such as China or the EU. Paper from Canada (and Mexico) that is “wholly grown, produced, or manufactured” within the country is exempt, since it’s subject to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Retaliatory tariffs from other countries will affect books exported by US publishers, however. […]
Forthcoming: Thomas Pynchon, Patti Smith
Penguin Press will publish SHADOW TICKET, a new novel by Thomas Pynchon on October 7 in the US and Canada. The publisher writes in a release that the book is set in 1932 during prohibition: “Hicks McTaggart, a one-time strikebreaker turned private eye, thinks he’s found job security until he gets sent out on what should be a routine case, locating and bringing back the heiress of a Wisconsin cheese fortune who’s taken a mind to go wandering… By the time Hicks catches up with her he will find himself also entangled with Nazis, Soviet agents, British counterspies, swing musicians, […]