HBG Delays Office Return Until 2022
Hachette Book Group and Macmillan are pushing any official return date to the beginning of next year. Any HBG employee who can work from home can still do so. Offices in Berkeley, Boston, Boulder, Nashville, New York, and Philadelphia remain open to any staff member who wants to use them, as long as they are vaccinated and follow capacity limits. Four weeks’ notice will be given when the company decides to reopen the offices fully.
Disney is STILL NOT PAYING! Although there have been negotiations, Disney seems to be making it as difficult as possible for authors to receive monies they are rightfully owed. Disney claims they bought the properties but not the obligations that go with them.
From a recent press release:
“Writers, artists, illustrators, letterers, and other artists are valued members of the creative teams that produce art and literature that is enjoyed by millions,” said Mary Robinette Kowal, Task Force Chair. “We are inviting these talented artists to share their stories and we will fight for them to receive the money that is owed to them.”
The Task Force’s goals are to ensure that all writers and creators who are owed royalties and/or statements for their media-tie in work are identified and that Disney and other companies honor their contractual obligations to those writers and creators after acquiring the companies that originally hired them.
Should you boycott Disney? No. That would affect those who are being paid. For suggestions on how to bring this injustice to the public, read more here: https://accrispin.blogspot.com/2021/09/disneymustpay-update-disney-is-still.html
New Data: How Writers Really Spend their Days
Celebrity Chef Carla Hall (Food Network star) has written a children’s book based on a childhood memory. Available for pre-order, Carla and the Christmas Cornbread will launch on November 2, 2021.
Old Stories in New Formats: The Growth of Graphic Adaptations for Young Readers
Jason Reynolds Extends Term as National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature
His original plan was derailed by the pandemic. The additional term will give him the opportunity to meet with students in rural areas in person. He has plans for an archive of student stories as well.
Astra Forms Children’s Division, Introduces Imprint
In 2020 Beijing-based Thinkingdom Media Group created a subsidiary, Astra Publishing House. APH has now established a children’s book division, Astra Books for Young Readers.
Dohle Promises Competitive Bidding Between PRH, S&S
Editors at the two houses will be able to bid for the same book—even if they are the only publishers interested in the title.
Zando Taps First ‘Publishing Partners’
Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn and screenwriter/producer Lena Waithe have agreed to work on their own imprints for former Crown publisher Molly Stern’s new Zando publishing house.
Author Sara Gran Launches Dreamland Books
Dreamland will publish her books and an additional two to four titles a year from other authors with the purpose of having more control over the work and more creative and financial ownership.
Publishers, Amazon Ask Court to Dismiss “Illogical” E-book Price-Fixing Suit
Amazon and the Big Five publishers deny price fixing for e-books and say it would make no sense to create a monopoly for Amazon who the publishers would then have to deal with.
How HarperCollins Will Integrate HMH Trade
The majority of acquiring editors at the imprints will remain, although some layoffs have taken place. No numbers were given about how many jobs were cut.
