THIS WEEK


News Review The headlines: in brief


Job losses mooted at Welbeck following acquisition by Hachette


Hachete has confirmed it is in consultation with Welbeck Publishing Group staff, following its acquisition of the business last November, with jobs at risk.


A spokesperson for Hachete said the publisher could not confirm numbers or comment further amid the legal process. A statement from the publisher


WELBECK TITLES: STAFF ARE NOW IN CONSULTATION


said: “Following our business review of Welbeck, we believe there may be a requirement for a reduction in the number of roles needed. We are commited to approaching any changes with fairness and transparency. The publishing process, including contracts with authors and illustrators, is not connected to this review.” When Welbeck was acquired by Hachete it was announced that Welbeck’s giſt, illustrated and adult trade publishing would become part


of the Week


€100k


Anthony Doerr’s Cloud Cuckoo Land (Fourth Estate) and The Trees (Influx Press) by Percival Everett above have been shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award.This year’s shortlist also includes four novels in translation: Paradais by Fernanda Melchor, translated by Sophie Hughes (Fitzcarraldo Editions), Marzahn, Mon Amour by Katja Oskamp, translated by Jo Heinrich (Peirene Press), Love Novel by Ivana Sajko, translated by Mima Simi (V&Q Books), and Em by Kim Thúy, translated by Sheila Fischman (Seven Stories Press).


Rights deal 08 31st March 2023


Tóibín’s Long Island receives Picador embrace Picador has signed Long Island, the “masterful” new novel by Colm Tóibín left. Publisher Mary Mount acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada and Australasia, and e-book, audio and serial rights from Peter Straus at RCW. Scribner will publish in the US. The novel will be published in May 2024. Long Island reunites readers with Eilis Lacey, 20 years after Brooklyn. Mount commented: “It is overwhelming to be reunited with the characters of that novel once again. This is a novel of profound emotional resonance and enormous wit.”


Rights deal Stat


of Headline Publishing Group and Welbeck’s children’s list would become part of Hachete Children’s Group. The Bookseller has been told that the jobs of around 50% of staff at the company are at risk, with some 40 roles under consultation. A source told The Bookseller that the fiction publishing team and children’s division at Welbeck were heavily affected. Hachete did not comment on which departments could see job losses. In November 2020, Hachete went through a similar process with members of Laurence King Publishing staff following its acquisition of the arts and giſts specialist in September 2020. Earlier this week Australian book trade publication Books+Publishing reported that Benny Agius had leſt Welbeck ANZ where she was managing director.


Fourth Estate plumps for Julia Fox memoir Fourth Estate has triumphed in a five-way auction to acquire an “eloquent and accessible” memoir by “Uncut Gems” actress Julia Fox (left). Publishing director Michelle Kane secured UK and Commonwealth rights to Down The Drain from Fiona Baird at the WME Agency. US, Canada and open market rights were acquired by S&S vice-president and executive editor Sean Manning. Down The Drain will be published in October 2023. Kane said: “Julia Fox is one-of-kind—a genuinely left-of-centre talent.”


US judge rules on Internet Archive’s book lending A US judge has granted a summary judgment in favour of four publishers that the Internet Archive’s (IA) digital book lending violates copyrights. New York Federal Court Judge John


The Bookseller @thebookseller


From my early days in Aston to adventures and antics with Black Sabbath, this book has brought up memories I thought were gone forever https://bit.ly/3zi5r4k


Koeltl ruled: “IA’s fair use defence rests on the notion that lawfully acquiring a copyrighted print book entitles the recipient to make an unau- thorised copy and distribute it in place of the print book, so long as it does not simultaneously lend the print book. But no case or legal principle supports that notion. Every authority points in the other direction.” Member companies of the


Association of American Publishers filed a lawsuit against IA in June 2020. Among the plaintiffs are Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Penguin Random House and Wiley. IA promised an appeal, saying the


ruling “holds back access to informa- tion in the digital age, harming all readers, everywhere”.


© Steve Pyke


© Nacho Goberna


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