Last week, we briefly mentioned that Penguin had merged its Berkley imprint into the unified Putnam and Dutton group, and we linked to the Publishers Weekly coverage. The main concern of the article is what direction Berkley will take with its mass-market business.
What we missed was a literary agent’s public response to the news.
Robert Gottlieb, chairman of Trident Media Group, commented, “My immediate concerns are for those authors who are under contract and are caught up in the continuing downsizing of Random and Penguin. There is more to come.… Just a handful of months ago the publisher of Berkley sent her editorial team out to tell agents that Berkley was now focusing on the hardcover business….”
Bottom line: Gottlieb’s commentary goes on to express worry about lower advances and less risk-taking among publishers in light of the ongoing consolidation at Penguin Random House. Read the full story and Gottlieb’s response here.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
