This Great Hemisphere (Dutton, July 9, 2024. Editor: Pilar Garcia-Brown. Agent: PJ Mark, Janklow & Nesbit.) New York Times-bestselling author Mateo Askaripour‘s was chosen as one of Entertainment Weekly’s “10 rising stars to make waves,” and his first novel, Black Buck, was a Read with Jenna Today Show book club pick. Most recently, he was named as a recipient of the National Book Foundation’s “5 Under 35” prize. This Great Hemisphere is his second novel. How did you find your agent? I found my first agent through scanning Publishers Marketplace and cold querying her. I’d received an offer from another agent, […]
People 7/17
Book Scouts Share the Financial–And Existential–Realities of Their Business
Book scouting might be seen as one of the more glamorous positions in publishing, but the job is more than gossipy lunches and international travel. Scouting is a rigorous job with ties to all aspects of the business, influenced as much by local book trends as the global economy. As part of our compensation series, we spoke to literary scouts about how the job works, where the money comes from, and why the segment is shrinking. Scouts are essentially consultants hired by foreign publishers and film/TV studios to help them acquire books for publication or adaptation. They trade in information, […]
Booktopia Owes Creditors $60 Million; Was Pushed Into Bankruptcy By Credit Card Processor
Booktopia’s bankruptcy administrator told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the retailer owes creditors approximately $60 million (AU). McGrathNicol’s Keith Crawford said, “The vast majority of that debt is actually trade creditor debt, principally the suppliers of books,” who are unsecured creditors. The company has about 150,000 orders worth approximately $12 million that have not been fulfilled, many of those for pre-orders. And customers are holding $3 million in gift cards. The story reveals that the re-financing Booktopia had announced in June was derailed by their credit card processor. Booktopia executive chairman Peter George reports that, “Booktopia’s plans were hijacked in […]
CCC Announces Collective Solution for Internal AI Licenses
Copyright Clearance Center has officially announced their first long-in-development licensing program for AI re-use rights. This first step lets participating publishers include these rights in CCC’s annual copyright licenses (ACL), their enterprise content licensing program that businesses subscribe to. The license allows for non-exclusive, annually renewable rights to use content within AI systems for internal use. CCC president and ceo Tracey Armstrong says in the release, “It is possible to be pro-AI and pro-copyright, and to couple AI with respect for creators. Responsible AI starts with licensing, and in developing this license, CCC enables users to efficiently gain access to […]
Bloomsbury Reports Strong First Quarter
Bloomsbury released a brief trading update on Tuesday for the four months ended June 30, reporting “strong performance” that was in line with expectations for the year (£319.3 million in sales and £37.6 million in profit before taxation and highlighted items). The company acquired Roman & Littlefield’s academic publishing business during the period, which they expect will boost their Bloomsbury Digital Resources sales from £27 million in 2023/24 to £41 million in 2027/28. “The enlarged Academic business will focus on wider international sales, subject area expansion and continued innovation in digital scholarship and learning,” they said in a release. “The […]