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Literary agents move
into publishing Literary
agent Ed Victor has announced a move into publishing with
the launch of Bedford Square Books. The new publishing
house will concentrate initially on publishing out of print books or those on which the rights have
reverted, releasing them as eBooks and POD (print on
demand) titles.
While the focus of the
venture is clearly on the back catalogue of existing
clients, Ed Victor didn't rule out the possibility of
releasing original work by new writers, for instance if
they were passionate about a work but had failed to sell
it to a publisher. He remained clear, however, that given
a choice between an established publisher and Bedford
Square Books the established publisher should remain the
preferred choice.
In response to this
announcement other major literary agencies, including Curtis
Brown and Blake
Friedman, have announced similar plans, with Curtis
Brown announcing an intention to follow suit with a much
larger list of titles than the six planned in Ed Victor's
first wave.
How this sits with the
rules of the Association of Authors' Agents (of which all
three agencies are members) remains to be seen: a clause
of its convention specifically prohibits member agents
from acting as publishers, in order to avoid any conflict
of interests. Anthony Goff, the Association's President,
has acknowledged that the distinctions between authors,
publishers, and agents are becoming less distinct in the
modern age, but insists that the principle of avoiding a
conflict of interest between agent and author needs to be
maintained: "The point of the provision in the AAA's Code of Practice is to safeguard the principle and that's what matters, even if the distinctions between author, publisher and agent are being blurred."
For the details of these
and over 850 other literary agencies, click
here.
Amazon
to set up book publisher in New York?
Speculation is rife that
internet retailer Amazon is set to launch a book
publishing operation in New York City.
Amazon, which made its name
as an online book retailer, has already made some forays
into publishing, most recently with the the launch of the
Montlake Romance imprint earlier this month. However, the
recent appointment of literary agent and former CEO of the
Time-Warner Book Group, Larry Kirshbaum, has fuelled
speculation that the Seattle based company is about to
make a much more serious tilt at the publishing industry.
Observers also note that the company is currently hiring acquisition editors, publicists,
and marketing staff. Given
Amazon's position as the second largest bookseller in the
world, and the largest seller of e-readers (their Kindle
machine controls 29% of the market) the repercussions for
the book industry could be as significant as those caused
by the original introduction of the Kindle. The exact
impact that the move will have is as yet unclear, but one
thing is for certain: with agencies and now retailers /
manufacturers encroaching on their territory, this is an
anxious time for the traditional publishing establishment. For
the details of over 1,400 publishers, click
here
Literary agent Scott Moyers
returns to Penguin Press
Scott Moyers, a former executive editor of Penguin Press,
is returning to his old publishing house as publisher.
Moyers left Penguin Press
in 2007 when he joined the Wylie Agency as a literary
agent. What at the time seemed to be a trend of publishers
becoming literary agents now seems to be part of the
reverse, as both Moyers and Larry Krishbaum return to
publishing from their roles as literary agents (see
pervious article, above).
For the details of these
and over 850 other literary agencies, click
here.
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