Agents, authors question HarperCollins AI deal

 

 

In a significant move, HarperCollins has become the first Big Five publisher to strike a licensing deal to provide access to select nonfiction books for AI training purposes. And so far, authors and agents appear to be approaching the deal with caution and skepticism—if also with a measure of hope.

 

 

 

 

Hachette acquires Sterling Publishing from Barnes & Noble

 

 

In another reworking of Barnes & Noble's business under the direction of CEO James Daunt, the company has sold its publishing division to Hachette Book Group. Under the agreement, all Sterling Publishing Co.'s staff, publishing assets, and trademarks will be transferred to HBG and the company take over distribution for all of Union Square's distribution clients. No sale price has been disclosed.

 

 

 

 

NBN to close, clients offered opportunity to move to S&S

 

 

In another sign of the changing economics of distribution in the publishing industry, independent distributor National Book Network (NBN) will close next year, with its approximately 150 clients offered the chance to move to Simon & Schuster Distribution Services. Following the collapse of Small Press Distribution in March, the pending exit of NBN from the distribution business leaves Independent Publishers Group as the remaining independent distributor of significant size in the United States, although a number of smaller distributors, including Asterism Books and Itasca Books, have grown their client lists in the wake of the closure of SPD.

 

 

 

 

Australian authors giving every federal politician five books to encourage nuance in Middle East debate

 

 

Some of Australia's most prominent authors are among a group of more than 90 writers and literary supporters who have paid for every federal parliamentarian to receive a carefully curated package of books on the Middle East to expand their knowledge of the history of the conflict.

 

 

 

 

Trump threatens to sue Penguin Random House

 

 

President-elect Donald J. Trump is threatening to sue Penguin Random House and the New York Times for $10 billion over allegedly "false and defamatory statements" contained in articles written by Times journalists Peter Baker, Russ Buettner, Susanne Craig, and Michael S. Schmidt, according to a letter reviewed by the Columbia Journalism Review. The letter, signed by Trump lawyer Edward Andrew Paltzik, "singles out two stories coauthored by Buettner and Craig that related to their book on Trump and his financial dealings," along with two other articles written individually by the Baker and Schmidt, per CJR.

 

 

 

 

Penguin to acquire Amber-Allen publishing backlist

 

 

Penguin Publishing Group, the division of Penguin Random House, will acquire the publishing assets of Amber-Allen Publishing, the independent publisher of personal development books that has been a PRH Publishing Services distribution client since 2018.

 

 

 

 

Florida officials report hundreds of books removed from schools

 

 

Florida's department of education has released a list of more than 700 books that were "removed or discontinued" from schools across the state after changes to a state law last year that allows parents and residents to challenge the content of library books.

 

 

 

 

Orbital by Samantha Harvey wins the Booker Prize 2024

 

 

Orbital by Samantha Harvey, the only British writer shortlisted this year, has won the 2024 Booker prize, the UK's most prestigious prize for fiction.

Harvey's tale of six fictional astronauts on the International Space Station was "unanimously" chosen as the winner after a "proper day" considering the six-strong shortlist, according to judging chair, the artist and author Edmund de Waal. "Our unanimity about Orbital recognises its beauty and ambition. It reflects Harvey's extraordinary intensity of attention to the precious and precarious world we share".

You can check this out at BookBrowse here.

 

 

 

 

Hachette employees protest new conservative imprint

 

 

A group of employees at Hachette Book Group have penned a letter to management condemning the announced launch of a new conservative imprint, Basic Liberty, and hiring of Thomas Spence, former president and publisher of Regnery, to helm it.

 

 

 

 

Percival Everett and Samantha Harvey favourites to win 2024 Booker prize

 

 

Percival Everett and Samantha Harvey are the bookies' favourites to win the 2024 Booker prize.

American author Everett was Ladbrokes' frontrunner before the company closed bets on Monday morning, with 2/1 odds of taking home the £50,000 award for his novel James – a reimagining of Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of the enslaved Jim.