Week of Grim News for Book Industry

• Simon & Schuster has eliminated 35 positions, or about 2 percent of its staff, according to the Associated Press. In a company memo released Wednesday, CEO Carolyn Reidy said, "Today's action is an unavoidable acknowledgment of the current book-selling marketplace and what may very well be a prolonged period of economic instability."

• HarperCollins plans to delay pay increases until after July 1, 2009, Bloomberg reported. According to Erin Crum, a spokeswoman for the publisher, the pay freeze is a response to the U.S. recession, and HarperCollins has not decided whether or not to eliminate jobs.