Macmillan

The Department of Justice has sued Apple and publishers for allegedly colluding to set eBook prices. Apple, Macmillan and Penguin will fight the suit in court; HarperCollins (statement here), Simon & Schuster and Hachette (statement here) have settled with the government.

In court documents, DOJ attorneys alleged that Apple and five major publishers engaged in a “substantial” conspiracy as they set up the agency model for eBook pricing–including deleting emails “to avoid leaving a paper trail.”

Macmillan CEO John Sargent has decided to fight the suit. Read his letter here: “Other publishers have chosen to settle. That is their decision to make. We have decided to fight this in court.”

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Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting June 7. Speakers include Abigail Cusick (Bravo Digital), Gregory Galant (Sawhorse Media), Alex Leo (Thomson Reuters Digital), Jim Tobin (Ignite Social Media), and many more. Read the reviews.

Macmillan CEO John Sargent has released a public letter addressed to “authors, illustrators and agents,” sharing the moment he decided to join the agency model in 2010–setting prices for eBooks across different retailers.

Check it out: “I am Macmillan’s CEO and I made the decision to move Macmillan to the agency model. After days of thought and worry, I made the decision on January 22nd, 2010 a little after 4:00 AM, on an exercise bike in my basement. It remains the loneliest decision I have ever made, and I see no reason to go back on it now. Other publishers have chosen to settle. That is their decision to make. We have decided to fight this in court.”

The moment will play a crucial role in court soon as the Department of Justice has sued Apple and publishers, alleging that they colluded together to set eBook prices. Sargent disputed these claims in his long letter. We’ve reprinted the entire letter below…

 

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Penguin Books associate publisher Stephen Morrison will serve as the new publisher at Macmillan’s Picador Books. He starts on April 30th.

Henry Holt publisher Stephen Rubin and FSG publisher Jonathan Galassi welcomed the new editor in a memo: “Stephen brings exactly the right combination of enthusiasm, fortitude, resourcefulness and experience to grow Picador into a dynamic division committed to publishing a wide range of paperback reprints, paperback originals , hardcover works of fiction and nonfiction and digital-only publications.  Stephen’s mandate is to make Picador one of the industry’s most undaunted, aggressive marketing machines, culling books from all of Macmillan’s divisions, including St. Martins, FSG and Holt.”

Picador publisher Frances Coady departed last month in a company restructuring. Previously, Morrison served as executive editor at Bloomsbury, a senior editor at Penguin and a senior scout at Maria B. Campbell Associates.

St. Martin’s Press defended novelist Lenore Hart against plagiarism charges this week. A blogger who runs a Edgar Allen Poe fan website initially denounced The Raven’s Bride as “a virtual cut-and-paste job” from Cothburn O’Neal‘s 1956 novel, The Very Young Mrs. Poe.

Since then, members of the literary community (including spy novelist Jeremy Duns and Melville House co-publisher Dennis Johnson) have supported the allegations. The New York Times reported on the debate, including a statement from St. Martin’s Press in response to the accusations.

Here’s more from the statement: “Ms. Hart supplied a detailed response, which cited her research into biographical and historical sources, and explained why her novel and Cothburn O’Neal’s The Very Young Mrs. Poe contain certain details of place, description and incident. As Ms. Hart explained in her response, of course two novels about the same historical figure necessarily reliant on the same limited historical record will have similarities.”

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Film producer Samuel Hadida and his production company, Davis Films, have acquired the film rights for P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast‘s House of Night teen vampire series.

House of Night fans, who would you cast as the main heroine Zoey Redbird? Literary agents Sean Daily and Meredith Bernstein negotiated the deal. So far, nine books have been released in the House of Night series and the first title in the House of Night novella series, Dragon’s Oath. The mother-daughter writing duo is currently working on the tenth novel in the main series, Hidden, and the second title in the novella series, Lenobia’s Vow. The novella will be published on January 31, 2012. 

Hadida had this statement in the release: “We are thrilled to bring P.C.’s and Kristin’s stunning series of books to worldwide film audiences. They have created a world of adolescent growth against a backdrop of supernatural suspense that resonates around the world with young readers immersed in Twilight and Harry Potter. House of Night connects on a profound level — what growing up means today.”

Barbara Jones has been named executive editor at Henry Holt & Company. She will report to editor-in-chief Gillian Blake.

Here’s more from the release: “[Jones] was most recently editorial director of Hyperion Books and Voice, where she acquired Jane Lynch‘s Happy Accidents and edited the forthcoming novels Arcadia by Lauren Groff and The Red Book by Deborah Copaken Kogan, as well as the city of Houston’s current selection for the ‘One City, One Book’ program, One Amazing Thing by Chitra Divakaruni.”

Jones (pictured) will acquire fiction, memoir and narrative nonfiction projects. She began her career in magazine publishing with editorial positions at Rodale, Inc. and Meredith Corporation. She started working in book publishing at Disney’s publishing division.

White House videographer Arun Chaudhary has landed a book deal with Henry Holt & Company’s Times Books division. The book is slated for a summer 2012 release.

Chaudhary will tell the story of how he went from teaching at New York University professor to documenting Barack Obama‘s presidency. Editor Serena Jones negotiated the deal with Zachary Shuster Harmsworth literary agent Bridget Wagner.

In the announcement, Chaudhary said the book will focus on “the interplay of art, media, and politics through the prism of the historic Obama campaign and presidency … You won’t learn what the President eats for breakfast, but you will find out what makes space hero Buzz Aldrin mad in a staff van at 8 a.m.”

Tor.com and Barnes & Noble will create a monthly list of recommendations for science fiction and fantasy readers.

Barnes & Noble buyer Jim Killen will curate the list. The inaugural edition will focus on the opening volumes of popular fantasy series. Some of the titles that will be spotlighted include The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan, Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson and Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie.

What would you like to see on this list? Tor.com’s Irene Gallo had this statement in the announcement: “We are very excited about this new series. We’re constantly reminded of how engaged our readers are, and we can’t wait to see the conversations sparked by these knowledgeably-curated lists from our colleagues at B&N.”

Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group will publish a biographical picture book profiling rock legend Robbie Robertson. Aimed at 6 to 9 year old readers, The book will be written by Robertson’s son, Sebastian Robertson (pictured with his father).

The book will include photographs and other material from Robertson’s personal collection. Editorial director Christy Ottaviano negotiated the deal with literary agent Ryan Harbage at the Fischer-Harbage Agency.

Here’s more from the release: “The book will focus on Robbie Robertson‘s early years growing up in Canada and, later, living and working in America. The son of a Native American mother and Jewish father, Robbie Robertson spent time as a child at Six Nation Indian Reservation where he received guitar lessons and excelled quickly. By the time he was sixteen, he was offered a guitarist spot with Ronnie Hawkins’s band, and then went on to become the lead guitarist and chief songwriter for the acclaimed music group, The Band.”

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Politician Mark K. Shriver has signed a deal with Henry Holt & Company to pen a tome about his father, sargent Robert “Sarge” Shriver. The book will be titled A Good Man: Rediscovering My Father, Sarge Shriver.

Publisher Stephen Rubin acquired North American and audio rights in the deal. Executive editor Gillian Blake will edit the book.

Here’s more from the press release: “After he eulogized him in January, Mark wanted to know what made his father ‘tick.’ He found the answers in the simple and poignant gestures over a lifetime – in the frequent notes and daily talks, trips and prayers together – all based in Sarge’s unwavering devotion to his family (he and Eunice were married for 56 years); his devout Catholicism, which included attending daily Mass; his innate sense of duty and service to his country.” (Photo Credit: (C) 2003 Susan Warner)