Publishing industry

American publishers are expected to return to Frankfurt Book FairWorld's largest trade fair for books; held annually mid-October at Frankfurt Trade Fair, Germany; First three days exclusively for trade visitors; general public can attend last two. en masse this year as Penguin Random House US, Hachette Book Group and Simon & Schuster US confirm attendance and fair president Juergen Boos expresses optimism for numbers.  Read more

The three-week trial over Penguin Random House's $2.2bn merger with Simon & Schuster has caused widespread debate in the UK trade over the role of advances and the Department of Justice's "absurd" focus on high-earning authors.  Read more

On the afternoon of August 10th, in the E. Barrett Prettyman federal courthouse, the Department of Justice trial to block Penguin Random House from acquiring Simon & Schuster had hit a midweek lull. The courtroom itself-as well as the overflow room, where journalists were permitted Internet access-was a few booksellers shy of crowded.  Read more

In the 2021 Netflix film "Don't Look Up", two astronomers played by Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio embark on a media tour to warn the public about an impending comet collision that will doom the planet. The problem: no one really cares. Publishing takes a different approach to such matters. As an industry we assume the sky is falling down, even when it isn't.

The publishing industry had an unexpectedly good year in 2020, despite the many challenges created by the pandemic. In the essay below, Hachette Book Group CEO Michael Pietsch uses lessons from last year to make some educated guesses about where the industry may be heading in the near term.