Category: publishing

• Random House & Penguin Agree to Merge

  Posted at 9:08 am by Laura, on October 29, 2012

  Random House, Penguin Agree to Merge — Publishers Weekly

  In a deal that had been months in the making, Pearson and Bertelsmann announced Monday morning that they have signed an agreement to form a joint venture that will combine the businesses of Random House and Penguin. The deal, which is expected to close in the second half of 2013, will make Penguin Group chairman John Makinson chairman of the newly named Penguin Random House company, while Random House chairman and CEO Markus Dohle will be CEO.

  The partnership will be nearly 50/50, and publishers are confident this merger will be for the good of all. They say Random House and Penguin had similar publications, and this can only enhance their costs and models and business. The two publishing houses, even after the merger, would still like to remain distinct as best as possible for the employees.

  …Wow.

  Posted in Link, publishing | 0 Comments | Tagged news, publishing

• Random House, Penguin May Merge

  Posted at 2:49 pm by Laura, on October 25, 2012

  Random House, Penguin May Merge — Publishers Weekly BREAKING

  Uh…WHAT?!

  Responding to persistent media reports, mostly from European outlets, that Pearson and Bertelsmann are discussing a possible merger of Penguin and Random House, Pearson issued the following statement Thursday confirming talks. “Pearson confirms that it is discussing with Bertelsmann a possible combination of Penguin and Random House. The two companies have not reached agreement and there is no certainty that the discussions will lead to a transaction. A further announcement will be made if and when appropriate.”

  Two of the Big Six in the nation merging as one? I’m not sure how I feel about this! I hope it enhances these publishing houses, rather than hindering them.

  Posted in Link, publishing | 0 Comments | Tagged news, publishing

• “Newsweek” Ends Print Edition — NPR

  Posted at 8:45 pm by Laura, on October 18, 2012

  ‘Newsweek’ Kills Its Print Edition — NPR — Mark Memmott

  That glossy I grew up reading with my family, admiring the photos and stories and formatting, is going to end their print editions December 31 and then becoming an online-only publication.

  Personally, I think this is a terrible move.  Many of Newsweek‘s readers are not technologically inclined, and many complaints will be sent to them because of this transition. Adults 50+ are already upset about thinner newspapers and fewer magazines – this just increases that frustration.

  However, I can see why they made the change. More money can be made from ads rather than subscribers, they probably do have a wider readership digitally than in print, they’re changing with the times, etc. But I still think this is a poor move.

  I’m sure once I enter the business world I may change my mind, but for now I’m sticking to my guns.

  Posted in Link, publishing, technology | 0 Comments | Tagged magazine, news, publishing

• Prepping for JK Rowling’s “The Casual Vacancy”

  Posted at 11:37 am by Laura, on September 24, 2012

  To prepare yourself for Rowling’s adult novel, out tomorrow, here are some excellent articles I’ve found about the work, her feelings toward the new book and genre, and how she and her publishers think it will be received.

  1. MuggleNet posted a link to The New Yorker‘s lengthy interview with Rowling entitled “Mugglemarch” which proves to be an excellent read. Definitely take the time to look through it.
  2. The Guardian also provides a journalistic interview as well, squashing all the hyper around a who-dun-it mystery thriller and getting to the heart of Rowling’s intention: to write, not to make money.

  I’ve got a reservation on the book. I’m looking forward to reading something new from her. She could write anything and I bet I’d be interested, simply because she’s a great storyteller.

  Posted in books, Link, publishing | 0 Comments | Tagged books, news, publishing

• 55% of YA Books Bought by Adults – PW

  Posted at 6:16 pm by Laura, on September 14, 2012

  New Study: 55% of YA Books Bought by Adults – Publishers Weekly

  More than half the consumers of books classified for young adults aren’t all that young. According to a new study, fully 55% of buyers of works that publishers designate for kids aged 12 to 17 — known as YA books — are 18 or older, with the largest segment aged 30 to 44, a group that alone accounted for 28% of YA sales. And adults aren’t just purchasing for others — when asked about the intended recipient, they report that 78% of the time they are purchasing books for their own reading.

  This makes complete sense to me! YA is a growing market, the teens section of stores running out of space. I wonder what the resurgence is?

  They make the point that “Hunger Games” and “Harry Potter” are the drawing factor, but surely there’s more to it than that. Plus, this can be great news for teenagers as well, that reading is good and fun. In one of my graduate classes, we discussed the books that influenced us the most. The majority of us mentioned books from childhood and teen years, nothing fairly recently. This meant reading early and in the teen years marked important transitions in life.

  Keep it coming!

  Posted in books, Link, publishing | 1 Comment | Tagged books, bookstores, genre: young adult, news, publishing

• Pietsch Succeeding Young as CEO of HBG – PW

  Posted at 6:10 pm by Laura, on September 14, 2012

  A bit of old news, but it’s still news for this week!

  Pietsch Succeeding Young as CEO of HBG – Publishers Weekly

  Michael Pietsch is taking over at Hachette Book Group. The publisher announced today that Pietsch will be succeeding David Young as CEO of the U.S. division of the France-based publisher. Young, who is stepping down to return to the U.K. to be with his family, will retain his chairman title, and Pietsch will officially take over the day to day responsibilites on March 31, 2013.

  Um, can I move to the UK too?

  Big transitions like this are huge for the industry. I hope Pietsch continues to do well, and that Young enjoys his last few months in the US before heading home.

  Posted in books, Link, publishing | 0 Comments | Tagged news, publishing

• Age Discrimination Lawsuit Against Penguin – PW

  Posted at 9:42 pm by Laura, on September 6, 2012

  Marilyn Ducksworth Files Age Discrimination Suit Against Penguin – Publishers Weekly – Jim Milliot

  Marilyn Ducksworth, longtime director of corporate communications for Penguin Group USA, filed an age discrimination lawsuit on Wednesday afternoon in New York Supreme Court. Ducksworth, who was also senior v-p and executive director of publicity for G.P. Putnam’s Sons/Riverhead Books and associate publisher of Putnam, left Penguin August 31 after a 27-year career with the publishing house. Among the details in the complaint is the assertion that she was kept from helping to plan for the transition as Penguin CEO from David Shanks to CFO Coram Williams in January 2014.

  We find out later in the article that several of the older employees were cut, with the excuse that the industry needed faster, “nimble” workers for the changing industry (therefore, younger). While I completely understand the desire for cuts in order to have a quicker process, companies need an equal balance of young and old, new and experienced. While older employees may be generalized as stubborn to accept changing technology, stuck in traditional ways, and resistant to new ideas, the same could be said about younger employees: rash, quick judgements, poor consequences, etc. I wish Marilyn the best of luck, and that Penguin (all publishers, really) looks for field knowledge more than speed. Speed isn’t everything. That can ruin a company.

  Posted in Link, publishing | 0 Comments | Tagged news, publishing

• For American Girl Fans – A New Girl!

  Posted at 9:33 pm by Laura, on September 6, 2012

  American Girl was my life when I was younger. I read all the books, had five dolls and five beds and five sets of wardrobes, went to the American Girl Store in Chicago and blew years’ worth of savings in less than two hours, attended historical events at my local living history museum and with my grandmother in her city’s museum…

  And then middle school happened, and I grew older, and the magazines stopped coming and I was out of the loop.

  Sad.

  But then (!) I became a bookseller, and now I’m “meeting” all of the new AGs and looking forward to the stories they have to tell! Finally, this week, a new girl has arrived that I know nothing about and the younger girls I sell books to are just as excited as I am!

  Meet Caroline Abbott! She’s stuck in the middle of the War of 1812 (AG appears to have broken the ‘[#]4 formula), and a lot is going to turn her world upside down.

  Caroline Abbott is doing what she loves most—sailing on Lake Ontario with Papa—when her world turns upside down. A British officer boards their sloop, announces that Britain and America are once again at war, and takes her father prisoner. As Papa is led away, Caroline promises him that she will be brave until he returns. Then the British attack her village, and it looks as if the Americans are in trouble. Can she stay steady enough to help win the day?

  My favorites in the boxed sets were the Christmas / winter / holiday stories. I genuinely want to start with Caroline’s winter story first whenever I get the chance to feel ten again.

  Posted in books, Link, publishing | 1 Comment | Tagged books, genre: children, news, publishing

• New Literary Journal to Make Debut in Twin Cities – PW

  Posted at 9:14 pm by Laura, on September 6, 2012

  New Literary Journal to Make Its Debut in Twin Cities – Publishers Weekly – Claire Kirch

  A group of seven writers and editors in the Twin Cities have announced plans to launch Revolver, a literary journal that will feature prose, poetry, visual art, photography, and “maybe some exceptional” scenes from plays. Revolver’s content will be updated online every two weeks, and a print edition published twice a year will feature the best submissions of the past six months.  Revolver editors hope to make the print edition available for sale nationally, through bookstores, at book festivals, and at the annual AWP conference.

  Revolver is set to launch on Saturday, September 8th. There’s going to be a bit of a boxing theme for the evening, as a way to explain that the journal will publish any submission even if not every editor supports the piece. Their website will be interactive as well, and they are not focusing on one particular genre. Literature of any sort is fine literature to them!

  Posted in Link, publishing | 0 Comments | Tagged editing, journal, news, publishing

• Three Publishers Agree to $69 Million State Deal – PW

  Posted at 8:59 pm by Laura, on August 31, 2012

  Three Publishers Agree to $69 Million State Deal — Publishers Weekly

  The Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster have reached a $69 million agreement that will resolve lawsuits brought by 54 attorney generals from 49 states, the District of Columbia and territories, that charged the publishers with fixing e-book prices. Under the proposed agreement, which the court must approve, the three publishers will compensate consumers who purchased e-books from the three houses between April 1, 2010 and May 21, 2012. Payments will begin 30 days after final court approval of the settlement. In addition to paying restitution, Hachette, HC and S&S will pay the states approximately $7.5 million in fees and costs.

  This also ends their current agency agreements.

  I’m all sorts of confused. Doesn’t this make Amazon even more powerful? Could someone please explain this to me?

  Posted in Link, publishing | 0 Comments | Tagged ebooks, news, publishing, technology

• 

• Hello, I’m Laura!

  I'm a bookish bookworm and book hoarder. By day I'm a literary agent, and by night I'm forever rearranging my bookshelves. I could talk your ear off about Gothic literature, and in my past life people thought I'd become a professional musician. I have a fluffy black cat named Rossetti, I love to travel, tea is my drink of choice, British TV is the best, and I'm always down for chips-and-queso nights. Welcome to Scribbles & Wanderlust! Grab your favorite hot beverage and let's chat books!

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