Episode description

In this episode, we discuss the Department of Justice’s lawsuit against Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster in response to their proposed merger.

Some argue that the billion dollar deal would mean that instead of there being a competition between the two big publishers to acquire titles, there would effectively be a monopoly. This means there’s less incentive for the merged mega-publisher to offer a competitive advance amount to authors, since they’re not in a bidding contest to win the title.

Therefore, by driving down advances, this deal could effect the livelihood of authors who depend on those advances, and cause dire effects across the entire industry by making it more competitive than ever. 

With all this buzz, we are bringing on industry expert Janet Goldstein to talk about her take and advice for authors who might be feeling concerned. We’ll discuss the importance of the trial, what it means for authors, and how to navigate the changing publishing landscape successfully.