S&S Reacts to Authors Guild “Rights Grab” Announcement

Kristen King

Follow-up to today’s earlier post on Simon & Schuster’s new contract:

www.inkthinkerblog.com — A quick update on Simon & Schuster’s rights grab: S&S has fallen back some, now saying they’ll negotiate regarding the reversion of rights clause “on a book-by-book basis.” They also accuse us of an “overreaction.” Their official statement follows.

Agents are angered by Simon & Schuster’s gambit, according to this piece in Publishers Weekly.

Here are links to other stories that have run:

1. AP (via Herald Tribune)
2. New York Times
3. Publishers Weekly (the other PW story on S&S)

We’ll keep you posted on further developments. Have a good weekend.

Feel free to forward and post this message in its entirety. The Authors Guild (www.authorsguild.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest organization of published book authors.

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Simon & Schuster’s official reaction, from Adam Rothberg, VP for Corporate Communications:

We are surprised at the overreaction of the Authors Guild to Simon & Schuster’s contract. We believe that our contract appropriately addresses the improved technology, increased availability, and higher quality of print on demand books, and reflects the fact that print on demand titles may now be readily purchased by consumers at both online and brick and mortar stores. We are embracing print on demand technology as an unprecedented opportunity for authors and publishers to keep their books alive and available and selling in the marketplace in a way that may not have been previously possible for many authors, and are confident in the long term it that will be a benefit for all concerned. We would also like the author and agent community to know that, when necessary, we have always had good faith negotiations on the subject of reversions, and will continue to on a book-by-book basis.
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