Publisher E-Book Revenue Decreased In First Half Of 2019
ellenduffer – Thursday August 29, 2019
A familiar story is told by recent statistics released by the Association of American Publishers: e-book revenues continue to decrease for many in the industry.
According to AAP's publisher revenue report, based on 1,360 participating publishers' figures, e-book revenues decreased in the first six months of calendar 2019 by 3.8% over the same period in 2018. E-books were one of only two format categories that saw revenue decreases in this period (the other category being physical audio).
How the UK production boom is changing the way London’s literary agents are doing business
screendaily.com – Friday August 23, 2019
UK literary agents are navigating an unprecedented boom in UK production, with demand for their writing and directing clients at fever pitch.
“My clients are so busy at the moment,” said one literary agent at a major London agency. “Everyone is scrambling around to hire [the best talent], it’s very difficult for producers to get to them.”
The majority of the growth is in the high-end TV sector, the production of which tends to tie up clients for much longer than film. (The inward investment feature boom is doing a good job on its own of employing UK actors and crew). Netflix alone said it has has shot some 40 productions in the UK this year, while the major broadcasters are responding to the competition from the US streamers by making increasingly larger-scope series.
Capital Crime launches New Voices Award
thebookseller.com – Friday August 16, 2019
Capital Crime festival will host the inaugural New Voices Awards to champion the next generation of talent in the crime and thriller community next month.
In association with D H H Literary Agency, the awards will give entrants the chance to have three opening chapters of their debut novel read by agents, publishers and readers, who will then vote for their favourites.
Capital Crime co-founder and D H H founder David Headley, said: "At D H H we’re always on the lookout for talented new authors. The New Voices Award is an exciting competition that gives readers the power to help identify new talent. It promises to be a brilliant platform for aspiring writers."
DHH agents to hit Liverpool for author pitch event
thebookseller.com – Saturday August 10, 2019
DHH Literary Agency will host an event in Liverpool allowing aspiring authors to pitch their work direct to its team.
From 10am on 26th August, until 6pm on 4th October, writers are invited to apply by email for a chance to pitch to one of the agents on 7th December in Liverpool.
CWA creates new Dagger for crime publishers
thebookseller.com – Wednesday August 7, 2019
The Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) has created a new category for its Dagger awards, Best Crime and Mystery Publisher of the Year.
Maxim Jakubowski, honorary vice-chair of the CWA, said: “As part of the ongoing process of keeping the CWA in the forefront when it comes to crime writing and crime publishing, we felt this was an overdue category in our Daggers, and it becomes the first new Dagger to be created in well over a decade. Publishing houses and imprints are very important to the genre and are instrumental in keeping crime, mystery and thriller writing at the forefront of the reading public's consciousness, and fully deserve the recognition.”
Buchwald Becomes Second ATA Literary Agency to Sign Writers Guild Agreement
hollywoodreporter.com – Saturday July 27, 2019
Mid-tier talent agency Buchwald has become the second literary agency to break ranks with the Association of Talent Agents and sign a so-called franchise agreement with the Writers Guild of America, just three days after the WGA signed a smaller shop, Kaplan Stahler, and three weeks after the guild sidelined the ATA with a cease-and-desist letter that ended joint talks.
The news, which broke Thursday in a WGA member email, marks a victory for the union in its campaign to reshape agency business practices, particularly around packaging fees and affiliate production, and is likely to increase pressure on other mid-tier firms to sign as well.
WGA Launches Staffing And Development Platform For Agentless Writers
deadline.com – Friday July 26, 2019
The WGA has launched its new Staffing and Development Platform to help writers without agents find work. The platform is part of the guild’s ongoing efforts to outlast the talent agencies in its standoff with the Association of Talent Agents, now in its 104th day.
Details of the platform were outlined to guild members in a new WGA video featuring WGA West board members Angelina Burnett and Michele Mulroney, who also serve on the agency negotiating committee.
“We’re consolidating the tools already in use, like the portal and the weekly memos with newly developed tools and we’re calling it the Staffing and Development Platform” Mulroney said. “This platform will provide all sorts of ways for producers and writers to share and access information about one another. It will help connect you to open writing assignments and development opportunities.”
Abrams Artists Lit Agents Brad Rosenfeld, Paul Weitzman & Karen Kirkland Exit to Launch New WGA Signatory Agency
deadline.com – Thursday July 25, 2019
Veteran literary agents Brad Rosenfeld and Paul Weitzman are leaving Abrams Artists Agency after a 4.5-year stint as VPs and co-heads of the literary division. Partnered with fellow Abrams lit agent Karen Kirkland, the trio have launched a new agency, Culture Creative Entertainment, which has become a WGAsignatory, signing the guild’s new franchise agreement.
According to the principals, CCE will initially focus on writers and directors but will expand to include other areas of representation as they grow.
The move comes more than 100 days into the standoff between the Writers Guild of America and the Association of Talent Agents, which led to more than 7,000 writers firing their agents, including those represented by Abrams Artists.
Crime writers mystified by Colm Tóibín’s criticism
irishtimes.com – Tuesday July 23, 2019
Colm Tóibín aggravated a long-standing literary sore point last weekend when he told a Guardian interviewer: “I can’t do thrillers and I can’t do spy novels.”
Asked which books he felt were most overrated, he said: “I can’t do any genre-fiction books, really, none of them. I just get bored with the prose. I don’t find any rhythm in it. It’s blank, it’s nothing; it’s like watching TV.”
He does not, in fact, watch television. “I don’t have a TV. Everyone talks about the golden age of American TV but it’s done nothing for me.”
Audible's Captions Program Stirs Fears, Frustration Among Publishers
publishersweekly.com – Saturday July 20, 2019
“Outrageous” and “copyright infringement” were the first two (unsolicited) emails PW received from independent publishers when word of Audible’s new program to run text along side its audiobooks began to spread. The program, called Captions, which requires the company to transcribe audio to text, was highlighted in a story in USA Today with a headline touting that Audible is looking to let customers “ ‘read’ an audiobook while [they] listen.” While the company disputes that description, saying Captions is not at all akin to the act of reading, publishers, literary agents, and organizations representing authors are skeptical.
While Audible said in a statement that Captions “does not replicate or replace the print or eBook reading experience,” publishers are unconvinced. “There are real copyright issues here and authors, publishers, and agents should review and clarify their positions,” said Dominique Raccah, CEO of Sourcebooks. “It seems unlikely that Audible was granted these rights.”
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