Deal struck to end HarperCollins strike (This week in books)

This week! Books!

HarperCollins and the HarperCollins Union have reached a tentative agreement to end its three month long strike, which is reported to include an increase in minimum salary and a one-time bonus for striking workers. HarperCollins also reported disappointing earnings, down 52% in the last quarter.

Major outlets: “Barnes & Noble is back, baby!!” Take your pick on your Barnes & Noble Is Back article: Kate King at the Wall Street Journal, Ezra Klein at the New York Times, or Michael Hiltzik of the Los Angeles Times.

The reality: Way more complicated than that, in my opinion. B&N is no longer a publicly traded company, so their financial information is no longer public. While they are modestly expanding the number of stores, the new stores are likely to be smaller, and there’s not really enough publicly available information beyond #Vibes to be declaring a definitive comeback. The earnings CEO James Daunt has stated publicly were not super impressive considering the backlist-driven record profits publishers enjoyed during the pandemic.

And along those lines, industry sage Mike Shatzkin pours a big ole glass of ice cold water on traditional publishers, noting that the share of books sold through bookstores is now likely less than 30%. Now that additional mergers appear closed off in the wake of the DOJ blocking the PRH/S&S merger, the only road to growth for traditional publishers is organic growth in a time when publishers are increasingly struggling to break out new titles. It risks a doom spiral where new titles are slashed, staff and sales services shrink, there are ever-fewer opportunities for advancement within the industry, and it becomes an even more difficult environment.

More to come on this.

Laura Warrell, author of the fantastic Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm, is back two years after writing an essay called Writing While Black with an update called Publishing While Black, about the pushes and pulls she’s experienced in the midst of publication. She writes: “So maybe the question becomes: who are you writing for? If the answer is “people in my community,” does this limit or liberate your engagement with craft? If the answer is “everyone,” what do you do about race? What other answers are possible?”

David Remnick conducted the first interview with Salman Rushdie since his horrific attack last August. Rushdie’s new novel Victory City is also out now.

And who doesn’t love a good roundup of pet peeves? Ron Charles takes a look at readers’ book pet peeves, which include dreams (yup), anachronisms (definitely), typos (live a little, people), and, um, italics? What?!

This week in bestsellers

Here are the top five NY Times bestsellers in a few key categories. (All links are affiliate links):

Adult print and e-book fiction:

1. It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
2. It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover
3. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
4. Verity by Colleen Hoover
5. Heart Bones by Colleen Hoover

Adult print and e-book nonfiction:

1. Spare by Prince Harry
2. Love, Pamela by Pamela Anderson
3. The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
4. I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
5. The Nazi Conspiracy by Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch

Young adult hardcover:

1. The Stolen Heir by Holly Black
2. How to be a (Young) Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi and Nic Stone
3. The Davenports by Krystal Marquis
4. Nick and Charlie by Alice Oseman
5. Five Survive by Holly Jackson

Middle grade hardcover:

1. Wonder by R.J. Palacio
2. Little Legends by Vashti Harrison
3. Refugee by Alan Gratz
4. Little Leaders by Vashti Harrison
5. Odder by Katherine Applegate

This week on the blog

In case you missed them, here are this week’s posts:

• If you think writing is easy you’re probably not very good at it
• Don’t rely on abstractions (query critique)

Don’t forget that you can nominate your first page and query for a free critique on the blog:

• Nominate Your First Page for a Critique on the Blog
• Nominate Your Query for a Critique on the Blog

And keep up with the discussion in all the places!

• Follow me on Twitter
• Follow my page on Facebook
• Join the Facebook Group
• Check out the Bransforums

And finally, congrats to LeBron James on breaking the NBA scoring record. Numerologists will have a field day because LeBron, 38-years-old, broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 38-year-old points record with 38,388 points when he scored 38 points in a game that happened on the 38th day of the year. THIS IS REAL!

Have a great weekend!

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Photo: The Huntington Library, San Marino, CA