Random House acquires Figment, the teen writing site founded by Condé Nast vets
Random House has acquired teen reading and writing community Figment. Figment had previously acquired Inkpop, a similar site from HarperCollins.
Big-5 publisher Macmillan makes many more ebooks available to libraries
Big-5 publisher Macmillan, which had previously only made 1,200 ebooks available to libraries for lending, is now opening up its entire backlist of about 11,000 titles.
Penguin makes its ebooks available to libraries through Overdrive once again
Penguin is making its ebooks available through Overdrive, the largest digital library distributor in the U.S., once again. Kindle users will have to side-load the ebooks to their devices; they won’t be able to check them out wirelessly via Amazon.
Random House launches Flipboard magazines for Margaret Atwood and George R.R. Martin
Random House launched custom magazines on Flipboard for two of its bestselling authors, George R.R. Martin and Margaret Atwood.
Digital now makes up 11.3% of Hachette’s revenues worldwide, and 20% of Random House’s
Digital now accounts for 11.3 percent of Hachette’s sales worldwide, and about 20 percent of Random House’s
Want to sell some Kurt Vonnegut fan fiction? Now you can, on Amazon’s Kindle Worlds
Users of Amazon’s fan fiction platform, “Kindle Worlds,” will now be able to sell fan fiction based on Kurt Vonnegut works, the company announced Thursday.
Welcome to the world’s largest book publisher: Penguin-Random House merger complete
Penguin and Random House have completed their merger, resulting in the world’s largest book publisher: Penguin Random House.
European Union approves Random House-Penguin merger
The European Union approved the merger of Random House and Penguin without conditions on Friday, saying it doesn’t pose a threat to competition. The U.S. approved the merger in February.
Open Road and HarperCollins battle over ebook rights to Julie of the Wolves
In a lawsuit over the ebook rights to Jean Craighead George’s Julie of the Wolves, HarperCollins argues that its 1971 contract with George included the right to publish ebooks, while Open Road argues that isn’t possible.
European Union will reportedly approve Random House-Penguin merger
The EU will reportedly approve Random House and Penguin’s proposed merger without qualifications. The U.S. Department of Justice approved it in February.