A report by Lynne Neary that aired on All Things Considered today.
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And there’s the still-simmering dispute between the publisher Random House and the powerful Wylie Agency over an exclusive deal Wylie recently signed with Amazon to sell digital versions of some bestsellers — books like Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita and Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man that came out before e-books even existed.
“When an agent becomes a publisher, that is sort of contradictory,” says bestselling author and Authors Guild President Scott Turow.
Turow says the guild is concerned that Wylie may have a conflict of interest in taking on the role of both publisher and agent. The guild is especially critical of Wylie for signing an exclusive deal with Amazon — which dominates the digital book market in both electronic readers and e-books — but it’s also troubled by Random House’s response that it wouldn’t do business with any of the English language authors Wylie represents until the dispute is resolved.
Turow says something like that only hurts the writer.
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Source: National Public Radio (NPR)
See Also: More on the Amazon/Wylie Story
See Also: Complete Client List from Wylie Agency
