Publishing world

The theft of books occupies a complex place in our moral judgment, depending on motive. In Markus Zusak's 2005 novel The Book Thief, the actions of the title character are heroic - she steals books to save them from destruction.  Read more

Following through on its pledge made in June 2020 to audit the diversity of its contributors, Penguin Random House's initial report found that the demographics of its authors, illustrators, translators, and other creators "do not reflect U.S. reader demographics when it comes to race and ethnicity."

It doesn't sound like a Pulitzer winner, but "U.S. v. Bertelsmann SE, 21-cv-02886" is a cracking read in the niche genre of antitrust litigation. This is the U.S. Department of Justice's surprise lawsuit against Penguin Random House's $2.2 billion agreement to buy rival publisher Simon & Schuster almost a year ago.

This year, I found the spring television upfronts oddly exciting. A lot is changing in the media landscape, so much that I have trouble keeping up. Plus, as you all know, my summer was filled with moving and a boatload of deadlines.  Read more

Anyone who follows publishing knows that it loves to celebrate a disruptor. Disruptor is a label thrown at anything new, and publishing is unusually easy to disrupt because it is particularly slow to change.  Read more