Following news that WME was advising clients to opt out of the Google Books settlement, the Authors Guild posted an advisory asserting “several errors that are likely to sow some confusion.” They write: “William Morris’s principal mistake is that it appears to think that the uses that the settlement permits Google to make are interminable. This leads the agency to draw a series of erroneous conclusions…. Most fundamentally, it leads the agency to conclude that authors are limited in their dealings with Google to the settlement’s terms, unless the court changes those terms. It’s wrong, on all counts.” The Guild […]
The Most Marketplace: Making Contact
Inspired by a weekend Twitter post from agent Collen Lindsay (“Book Editors: Make sure your listing in Publishers Marketplace is current. It’s free for you to add your contact info”) today’s PublishersMarketplace.com feature highlight is on our popular Contact database. Increasingly the database is used as the “industry phone book” for daily contacts, and our own query audits confirm that the majority of searches is indeed agents and editors looking for each other. We answer about 1,200 contact queries a day, making it one of our most popular features, and the database is available to members only (so it cannot […]
On the Google Settlement: Washington Post (for), William Morris Endeavor (Against-ish)
On the Google Settlement: Washington Post (for), William Morris Endeavor (Against-ish)On Saturday the Washington Post weighed in with their long-awaited editorial on the Google Books Settlement. They like it on the whole (“settlement is in many ways better for consumers than the possible outcome of litigation”) though think the clause that blocks the Registry “from offering a better deal to any of the company’s competitors within its first 10 years” is curious and wish it weren’t there. But what does it say that the editorial board doesn’t understand the settlement correctly in the first place? They believe that the Registry […]
Lunch Weekly for Monday, August 10
Deal Reports Just e-mail to deals@PublishersMarketplace if you aren’t using the online form linked below. Report a deal using the online form The Key As usual, the handy key to our Lunch deal categories. While all reports are always welcome, those that include a category will generally receive a higher listing when it comes time to put them all together. “nice deal” $1 – $49,000 “very nice deal” $50,000 – $99,000 “good deal” $100,000 – $250,000 “significant deal” $251,000 – $499,000 “major deal” $500,000 and up FICTION Debut Rainbow Rowell’s FLAGGED, a fresh take on the office comedy in […]
Barnes & Noble Will Acquire Private BN College
Barnes & Noble [BKS] announced this morning that the company will acquire the privately-owned Barnes & Noble College operation principally owned by Len Riggio for $596 million, or about $460 million net of the college unit’s cash on hand. One major reason for the combination is the emergence of e-books and BN’s renewed attempts to build their online offerings and compete with Amazon. As Riggio says in the announcement, “Although both companies previously thrived as separate entities, owing to distinctions in their product offerings, the definition of textbooks and trade books has become increasingly blurred. This trend will accelerate with […]
People and Awards
Over the weekend Phoenix Books announced the death of company president Michael Viner, 64, on Saturday, following a battle with cancer. They note Viner was “widely credited with revolutionizing and reinventing the audiobook industry as the co-founder of Dove Audio.” At the Hugo Awards presented this weekend, Neil Gaiman won the prize for best novel for The Graveyard Book. Borders Group has named three vice presidents to lead their store operations: Mike Steele is zone vice president for the West Coast; John Melnick is zone vice president for the Northeast; Dave Marsico is zone vice president for the Midwest. The […]