Simon and Schuster Inc.

Press Release: Simon & Schuster Audio And Play.it® Make Stephen King's Drunken Fireworks A One-Of-A-Kind Audio Publishing Event
May 13, 2015

NEW YORK, May 12, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- In an innovative and exciting collaboration, Simon & Schuster Audio and Play.it® will share in its entirety a stream of Stephen King's forthcoming audiobook short story DRUNKEN FIREWORKS for listeners nationwide.  CBS RADIO stations in more than 20 major markets across the country will drive tune-in to the special event on which takes place July 2nd.  Play.it® is an on-demand audio platform recently launched by CBS RADIO and CBS Local Digital Media.

Press Release: Simon & Schuster to Launch New Imprint
April 28, 2015

Esteemed children's book editor Caitlyn Dlouhy will launch an eponymous imprint, Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing announced today. The newly formed imprint will reside within the larger Atheneum Books for Young Readers and will publish roughly twenty titles a year beginning in Spring 2016. The projects will range in age from picture books to young adult, and will have the literary quality and commercial appeal expected from one of publishing's most decorated editors. The news was announced by Justin Chanda, Vice President and Publisher of Atheneum Books for Young Readers, to whom Ms. Dlouhy will continue to report.

Can Penguin Random House Get an Even Better Deal from Amazon?
April 27, 2015

is is an appropriate time to consider the power of Penguin Random House's position in the marketplace. It is very strong. If I were any of the other four major publishers, I would fear PRH more than Amazon as a potential disruptor of my business. When I put that proposition to a UK-based executive of one of those companies at the London Book Fair last week, he readily agreed with me.

When one considers what a segmented business publishing is, the Penguin Random House combination becomes that much more eye-catching.

Scribd Expands Audiobook Catalog in Deal With Penguin Random House
April 16, 2015

E-book subscription services are bulking up and expanding their libraries and services, as the competition to become the Netflix of books escalates. On Thursday, the subscription reading service Scribd announced that it would add more than 9,000 audiobooks from Penguin Random House Audio to its platform, increasing its audiobook catalog to more than 45,000 titles.

The deal will give Scribd's subscribers access to narrations of popular titles by authors like Lena Dunham, John Grisham, Gillian Flynn and George R.R. Martin.

What the Amazon-HarperCollins Deal Means for Ebook Pricing and Publishing
April 15, 2015

With the latest deal wrapped, Amazon appears to have reached a truce, of sorts, with the publishing industry. Since last fall, the e-commerce giant has successfully renegotiated contracts with four of the five big publishers-Hachette, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, and Macmillan. The terms of all the contracts, per the New York Times, let the publishers decide their own e-book prices, but also gave them financial incentives to keep those prices low. Arrangements that give the publisher complete control over e-book prices are known in the industry as "full agency" models.

Press Release: Playster Announces Content Deal With Simon & Schuster
April 14, 2015

MONTREAL, April 13, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Playster, the all-inclusive digital multimedia streaming platform, today announced a content deal with Simon & Schuster, one of the world's largest book publishers. The agreement will provide unlimited access to a vast number of bestselling backlist ebook titles from the publisher's U.S. and international catalog.

Oyster Is Selling Ebooks Now. But Is It Targeting Amazon?
April 10, 2015

Yesterday, the company announced it would be opening an ebookstore, featuring titles from existing clients and the two Big 5 holdouts, Hachette and Penguin Random House. The ebook subscription-which earned the company the moniker 'The Netflix for Books"-remains the company's core identity, but the store is a major development, especially because it's open to non-subscribers. (Melville House books are available for purchase because-final full disclosure-we are distributed by PRH.) While the "ebookstore" (which is a bad word, by the way) element of this story has gotten the most play in the media

HarperCollins to Bring Back Agency Pricing as Early As Next Week
April 9, 2015

Following tense months-long negotiations with Amazon, HarperCollins is reportedly planning to force ebook retailers to adopt agency pricing as early as next week. Publishers Lunch reports that:

Multiple retailers report that Harper has informed them their selling terms will change as of Tuesday, April 14. (The change is actually effective midnight Pacific time, rather than Eastern. Amazon would be among those companies that naturally end their business day on Pacific time.) Harper is requiring retailers to implement all price changes within 24 hours.

New Details Come to Light on HarperCollins Negotiations With Amazon
April 2, 2015

When I reported on the story on Tuesday, I knew little more than that the negotiations had hit a snag.  The original BI article didn't include any direct quotes, just unnamed sources, but it was later updated to include this statement from Amazon:

I can't comment on that rumor. I can say that we have offered Harper the same terms for a contract that Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan have all recently agreed to.

I can also add that Publishers Lunch said that the contract negotiation had been going on for over a year.

HarperCollins May Withdraw All Its Books from Amazon
April 1, 2015

The contract between "Big Five" book publisher HarperCollins and Amazon is about to expire, and HarperCollins is refusing to sign an agreement with the new terms that Amazon is asking, a source with knowledge of the situation tells Business Insider. 

The contract presented to HarperCollins was the same contract recently signed by Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan, Amazon confirmed.

If HarperCollins and Amazon don't come to an agreement, no print or digital HarperCollins books will be available on Amazon once its existing contract runs out "very soon," our source says.