#Prh simon and schuster trial

It turns out that I’m not the only one with concerns. Now that I’m no longer employed by one of the companies involved, I can say out loud that I hold major reservations about what it could mean for those still inside the book machine. Having worked in the publishing industry for almost a decade at both S&S and PRH, I’ve been wary of this merger since the news of it first broke in November 2020. The five largest publishing houses: Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Harper Collins, Macmillan, and Hachette. Midlist:Ī term for books that aren’t bestsellers but are still economically viable for the publisher. Simply put, it’s a subdivision of a larger publishing house.

Imprint:Ī name under which a book publisher publishes books. Once a book “earns out,” authors can earn royalties.

When the publisher makes back the amount of the advance from book sales, recouping their initial investment. Frontlist books are newly released titles that come out each season. Backlist:īooks that a publisher keeps in print over time. When multiple publishing houses bid against each other to acquire an author’s work. Payments are usually distributed in fourths. The amount of money paid by the publisher to an author in advance of their book’s publication. If you want to get a more granular picture of what’s going on in the trial, I recommend reading Publishers Weekly News Editor John Maher’s epic Twitter thread, which recounts a play-by-play from inside the courthouse. There were several gasp-worthy moments from these publishing power players who spilled more industry tea than at the National Book Awards afterparty.

#Prh simon and schuster trial

PRH and S&S argue that combining their resources would not hurt competition and would in fact allow PRH to make higher offers overall, thus encouraging competitive advances from other members of the Big Five (well, four), as well as independent publishers like Scholastic and Workman.ĭuring the first week of the trial (which is still ongoing), we heard testimony from witnesses on both sides, including S&S CEO Jonathan Karp, PRH CEO Markus Dohle, and bestselling S&S author Stephen King (for whom I once bought a sandwich as a publicity assistant). Bookstores Are Peddling the Lies of 'Go Ask Alice'.The Crypto Revolution Wants to Reimagine Books.