Will the Pending Merger of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster Make Publishing Less Diverse?

This Los Angeles Times opinion piece by indie publisher Chad W. Post, argues just that, saying the current ecosystem is one where "the most monied companies determine what is read."

The Authors Guild agrees the merger is bad for authors, stating, 

“there would be fewer competing bidders for their manuscripts, which would inevitably drive down advances offered…. The history of publishing consolidation has also taught us that authors are further hurt by such mergers due to editorial layoffs, canceling of contracts, a reduction in diversity among authors and ideas, a more conservative approach to risk-taking, and fewer imprints under which an author may publish.”

Chad discusses another troublesome dynamic of how indie publishers and the soon to be "big four" interact:

"For the conglomerates, the most financially prudent way to acquire authors who aren’t sure things is to treat independent publishers as farm clubs that identify and develop talent ripe for exploitation. Let the presses with the thinnest profit margins take the risks, seek out the undiscovered — the books readers didn’t know they wanted, the authors who change the way we talk about writing — and then, once they’ve proved these books can take off, just poach the authors. Simple. A winning formula."

But the case is being made that the winners aren't authors, or diversity of voices, or even readers. 

Illustrate and Write On,

Lee

Will the "Big Five" Become the "Big Four"?

As reported this week by Edmund Lee in The New York Times, among the top bidders for Simon & Schuster are:

"News Corp, which already owns HarperCollins," and 

"a leading bidder is Penguin Random House... the largest book publisher in the United States, [which] is owned by the German media giant Bertelsmann." 

Additionally, "The French firm Vivendi, a minority owner of Hachette through the publisher Lagardère, has also made a bid." 

It should all be settled (or not - if there's no deal) in the next few weeks. "Final bids are due before Thanksgiving, and ViacomCBS could announce a winner some time after that."

Ongoing consolidation affects the overall business - and is important to know about. You can read the full article here.

Illustrate and Write On,

Lee

Penguin & Random House To Merge

It's being reported everywhere (like this article in the New York Times), Penguin and Random House will become Penguin Random House!

"The merger will create the largest consumer book publisher in the world, with a global market share of more than 25 percent."

That's one out of every four books!

Certainly the landscape of publishing is changing.

Markus Dohle of Random House will be chief executive of the new entity, and in letters to the author, agent and bookselling communities, wrote:

“For us, separately and in partnership, it is and always will be about the books. Your books.”

He also said in an interview with PW that "his goal is to leverage the resources of the new company while creating a small company culture where publishers, authors, and editors can feel at home. That can be done, Dohle said, by maintaining distinct imprints and publishing groups."

Once it passes the regulatory hurdles, this would bring the number of major American publishing houses down from six to five.  Some analysts are predicting more mergers moving forward.  From the New York Times article,

“I wouldn’t be surprised if all the major trade publishers were having conversations like this,” said Ned May, an analyst at Outsell, a research firm. “I would expect to see similar realignment.”

And from an article at digital book world comes this version (among many) of what the new Penguin Random House logo might look like:

Possible Logo designed by Joe Encarnacion, creative director at Hatchback Studios

Important news for all of us Children's Book Writers and Illustrators to know.

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee