In a move that was expected before the arrival of COVID-19, the largest US book printer, LSC Communications, has filed for bankruptcy. The writing has been on the wall ever since LSC and Quad failed in their merger bid last year. (We explained the situation back in November.) LSC employs 22,000 people and carries nearly a billion dollars in debt; in 2019, revenue fell 15 percent versus the prior year and the company failed to make a profit. Referring to both LSC and Quad, Sara Grace of Publishers Lunch commented (subscription required), “Publishers need buyers to come forward and perpetuate these businesses—and already anticipate that those buyers will be rewarded with significant price increases on printing costs as capacity continues to shrink.”
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.
