Harper brings Prom Nights forward
13.05.09 Graeme Neill reporting in The Bookseller

HarperCollins has brought forward publication of a collection of short stories featuring Stephenie Meyer after retailers objected to an exclusive deal with Waterstone's.
Prom Nights from Hell, which also features a short story from Princess Diaries author Meg Cabot, went on sale in Waterstone’s on 30th April. The book was due for a trade wide release on 6th August but it will now be available to all retailers from 25th June. A spokesperson for HarperCollins said: "We moved this forward in response to the interest shown by other retailers."

Rival retailers hit out at the exclusivity of the deal, saying it had echoes of the disastrous Sunnyside offer Waterstone's had with Hachette imprint Sceptre. In March Hachette pulled out of the deal, where Waterstone’s would have sold the new Glen David Gold novel exclusively from its July launch until the autumn, following retailer outcry.
One retailer said of the HarperCollins deal: "All retailers have exclusive deals with publishers in some form but this is different. Stephenie Meyer is a much bigger deal for the retailers." Another added: "It’s interesting that Waterstone's had kept it quite low-key to try and avoid a Sunnyside-style outcry."

The HarperCollins spokesperson said that the publisher had been approached by Waterstone's as the retailer had sold a number of copies on import. The book was first published in the US in 2007 but never had a UK release. The retailer bought the book’s entire first UK print run.
A spokesperson for Waterstone's said: "It's a book that has been . . . on sale for three years and we are delighted that HarperCollins has published a UK version."