Victoria Strauss at Writer Beware offers excellent insights into what’s happening with the bankruptcies of Albert Whitman & Co and Unbound (now operated as Boundless). She finds a report from Unbound’s administrators that says Unbound had operated at a loss since its founding in 2012, relying on investors to sustain operations. When it reached profitability in 2023, it failed to secure further capital necessary to stabilize its position. Regarding Albert Whitman, she says Writer Beware has been receiving complaints going back to 2019. Just another reason to subscribe to and follow Writer Beware. Learn more.
For more on what happens when publishers go bankrupt, read this insightful post by longtime agent Richard Curtis.
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.
