Industry & Advocacy News
January 7, 2022
As 2022 gets underway, the FBI identify and arrest a publishing professional who has been scamming authors to send him their manuscripts; The New York Times confirms PRH did not “cancel” a proposed book project in tribute to Norman Mailer; EU authors faced as many economic challenges as their American counterparts during the height of the pandemic; a list of upcoming book fairs and publishing conferences and more.
Image: Published in 1974, Sandra Kitt's Adam and Eva recently was selected as one of the 20 Most Influential Romance Novels of the Century for featuring Black protagonists and culture.
F.B.I. Arrests Man Accused of Stealing Unpublished Book ManuscriptsThe New York TimesAfter five long years, the feds arrested Filippo Bernardini, an Italian citizen whose social media profile states he works for Simon & Schuster UK’s rights division, on wire fraud and identity theft. As previously reported to Authors Guild members, the accused would send out emails impersonating real people working in the publishing industry by using fake email addresses that slightly tweaked domain names, using, for example, penguinrandornhouse.com instead of the correct penguinrandomhouse.com. The indictment said he had registered more than 160 fraudulent internet domains that impersonated publishing professionals and companies.
Was Norman Mailer Canceled? His Publishers Say No.The New York Times“The Gray Lady” investigated after journalist Michael Wolff wrote a column in The Ankler accusing Random House of canceling a new book of Norman Mailer essays in honor of the centennial of the author’s birth because of qualms that some of Mailer’s writings smack of racism or sexism. After checking with the Mailer estate’s agent, Mailer’s family, and Penguin Random House, the Times confirmed that while PRH passed on the project presented to them, one can’t cancel a book it never agreed to buy. Skyhorse, an independent publisher known to take on more controversial authors and content, will be publishing the collection of essays.
A 2022 Publishing ResolutionPublishing PerspectivesU.K. publisher Richard Charkin offers 15 new metrics that publishers should use to determine success.
Year’s End: European Writers’ Council Follows Up on COVID’s ImpactPublishing PerspectivesThe European Writers Council issued its second report on the pandemic’s impact on authors and publishers in the E.U. Among the most compelling findings: part-time authors lost up to 25% of their income while full-time authors lost up to 40% of their annual income; only 10 of the 20 countries included in the report offered authors state compensation or aid package to make up for these income declines. At the same time, eBook and audiobook piracy tripled in some parts of the E.U.
The 20 Most Influential Romance Novels of the Past CenturyBook RiotThe author of this list notes that while she believes these romance novels have had the most influence on the genre, they are not without flaw and that some of the older books on the list contain sexist tropes, racist stereotypes, fatphobia, and violence on the page
Book Festivals, Fairs, and Conferences: Winter 2022Publishers WeeklyPW shares its list of upcoming book festivals, fairs and writers conferences to be held during the first three months of 2022, assuming that the Omnicon variant doesn’t result in additional cancellations. Big Deals Highlighted 2021 AcquisitionsPublishers WeeklyThis article summarizes major publishing-related acquisitions that took place last year.