Publishing News, February 2021

HarperCollins has joined the other major publishers in raising starting salaries. They made an agreement with their union to increase starting salaries to $45,000 a year for staff in New York NY and San Francisco CA, starting January 18, 2021. The following three sal­ary tiers will also be increased commensurately. “This decision is part of the company’s ongoing review of industry data on salaries in order to remain competitive.” About half the union mem­bership will receive pay increases.

Inkyard Press, Harlequin’s YA imprint, is expanding into middle-grade, with four titles planned for 2022. The line will feature “action-packed, thoughtful books with ongoing series and brand potential in the humor, fantasy, and adven­ture categories, with a commitment to including stories centered on marginalized characters.”

Escape Artists – which runs fiction podcasts Cast of Wonders, Escape Pod, Podcastle, and Pseudopod – has announced that all associate editors will now be paid, starting January 1, 2021. Co-owner and pub­lisher Marguerite Kenner said, “We are incredibly fortunate and honored that so many of our audience have chosen to support us in such turbulent circum­stances, many increasing longstanding donations or making first-time contributions. We received floods of messages sharing how our stories were part of coping mechanisms, offering much needed stress relief and escapism. And the effect of this generos­ity has been the ability to do something we’ve been longing to do for a very long time…. Compensate the Creative is one of EA’s core values and we are delighted (and, to be honest, relieved) that every single member of the EA team will be receiving pay for their contributions.” For more: <escapeartists.net/2020/12/21/announcing-associate-editor-pay>.

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