Amazon has upped the ante in its battle with Hachette over sales terms. After
news surfaced earlier this month that the online retailer was slow in
fulfilling orders on the publisher's titles—with shipment delays reaching five
weeks—Amazon has now removed the preorder capabilities on many major
forthcoming Hachette titles. The publisher said that it is "doing everything in our power to find a solution to this difficult situation." more »
THE ROUNDUP
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How One Novel
Derailed Gore Vidal : A new movie paints a loving portrait of
the ruling-class rebel—but the great critic's real legacy is complicated.
Judge Reinstates
Lee's Suit : A federal judge has reinstated a lawsuit that
"To Kill a Mockingbird" author Harper Lee filed against a museum in
her hometown of Monroeville, Ala.
Novelists Can't
Kill off Their Careers: Philip Roth is far from alone in taking
a very long time to stop writing after having announced that he is retiring.
McMurtry on
Fiction, Womanizing, Old Age: Larry McMurtry, the Pulitzer
Prize–winning author of "Lonesome Dove," chats with Michael Hoinski
at Grantland.
What's in a Pen
Name?: John Wray discusses pseudonyms, in the "New
Yorker."
While over at Publishers Weekly:
Amazon's slowdown of their business
with Hachette Book Group as the parties battle over terms took
another turn Thursday evening, as site visitors noted on social media the
disappearance of pre-order buying capability for print and Kindle
editions of many forthcoming HBG titles. Among affected titles due for
publication in June are JK Rowling's next Robert Galbraith novel SILKWORM;
Michael Koryta's THOSE WHO WISH ME DEAD; Megan Abbott's THE FEVER; Elin
Hilderbrand's THE MATCHMAKER, and Tom Rob Smith's THE FARM, plus Anne
Rivers Siddons' THE GIRLS OF AUGUST (due in early July).
The affected books now
display as "currently unavailable" and offer to have customers
"sign up to be notified when this item becomes available" -- as those
same titles are readily available for pre-order at other online booksellers.
Additionally, some affected books do not have any Kindle page at all.
Following our original report Thursday,
Hachette Book Group ceo Michael Pietsch sent
an email to authors on Friday morning, obtained by PL. Pietsch confirms,
"I am sorry to tell you that Amazon has now taken preorder capabilities
away from Hachette Book Group publications" and adds: "Please
know that we are doing everything in our power to find a solution to this
difficult situation, one that best serves our authors and their work, and that
preserves our ability to survive and thrive as a strong and author-centric
publishing company." He acknowledges: "I know this is not a comfortable
situation for most of you, and I appreciate your support and the many messages
I’ve received."
The move is significant as an overt
extension of the current standoff between Amazon and HBG. Slowing down the
supply chain of physical books and tweaking of discount policies still left HBG
titles available for order, even if the conditions changed; removing pre-order
capability, while not the same as a full buy-button removal, is still a direct
cessation of one form of sale of HBG books.
HBG spokesperson Sophie Cottrell said in a
statement Friday morning: "Amazon has now taken preorder capabilities away
from Hachette Book Group publications. Forthcoming books now bear a
notice "currently unavailable" and a note inviting customers to ask
for an email when it becomes available. There is no preorder button, and
some not-yet-published books lack a Kindle page entirely. We are are
doing everything in our power to find a solution to this difficult situation,
one that best serves our authors and their work, and that preserves our ability
to survive and thrive as a strong and author-centric publishing company."
Amazon has also made it difficult to search
for these upcoming titles as well. For example, inputting "Tom Rob Smith
The Farm" does not immediately pull up the hardcover or Kindle editions of
the book, but does yield as the top option a "free preview -- first 25
pages" that Grand Central made available on April 15. Elin Hilderbrand
fans are also directed to a "free preview" ebook instead of the actual
forthcoming book.
Improbably, two Hachette titles still hold
places on Amazon's own list of top 25 pre-orders -- even though you can no
longer actually pre-order them: Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's August
release THE LOST ISLAND was still the No. 7 pre-order this morning, while the
next Galbraith was listed as No. 15.
Looking further ahead on the calendar, the
hardcover edition of Carlos Santana's autobiography can still be pre-ordered,
but the Kindle edition is unavailable; the same goes for Edith Pearlman's
forthcoming short story collection HONEYDEW, slated for a January 2015 release
date. Buy buttons have also been removed for James Patterson's forthcoming
titles; Paolo Bacigalupi's THE DOUBT FACTORY (October); Gail Carriger's YA
novel (November); a collection of short stories and novellas, THE MARTINI SHOT,
by George Pelecanos (January); and Chuck Todd's THE STRANGER (November).
Customers who pre-ordered any of these and
other forthcoming Hachette titles before May 22 should expect to see their
orders honored. A spokesperson for Amazon declined to comment.
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