Agency Begins E-Book Venture Limited to Amazon

Stephen Windwalker submits: Amazon (AMZN) has just announced a hugely significant deal to publish $9.99 Kindle exclusives of, for now, 20 of the great classics of contemporary literature from, mostly, the second half of the 20th century, and the publisher is a literary agency

(BERLIN) — Pearson PLC has confirmed that it will merge its Penguin Books division with Random House, which is owned by German media company Bertelsmann, in a deal that will create the world’s largest trade publisher. Pearson says Monday that Bertelsmann would own a controlling 53 percent share of the joint venture, which will be known as Penguin Random House. Bertelsmann would keep full control of its trade publishing business in Germany and Pearson would retain rights to use the Penguin brand in education.

Scott Hoffman is an agent at Folio Literary Management, representing some of the preeminent authors on bookstore shelves today. He comes from a varied background, having formerly run a lobbying firm in Washington, DC and transitioning out by getting an MBA in finance. He quickly realized it was a lifestyle he didn't want.

|Peter Boettke|Karl Marx once wrote about the impact of the advent of capitalism on feudalism that "All that was solid melts into the air".  The constant innovations in production, the uncertainty inherent in enterprise, and the changing of social relations tear apart the static conditions of traditional society.  It is important to realize that Marx saw this as not all bad, the dynamic change of capitalism brought material gains unimagined by previous generations.

Whether you consider the “Fifty Shades of Grey” series lowbrow or high art, the steamy novels and their millions of readers have revolutionized the traditional publishing industry.   The biggest change is in how once-stodgy publishing houses now pick books they deem worthy of selling – or as is more often the case, books that have already been sold by the authors themselves.  

The publishing house named in a $1.25-million defamation lawsuit launched by Conrad Black over the book Thieves of Bay Street has filed a Statement of Defence, refuting claims made by the former media baron. Lord Black alleges that certain passages in the non-fiction book, which details corruption in North America’s financial sector, brought him “into hatred, ridicule and contempt in Canada,” according to a Statement of Claim filed in June 2012.