Publishing News, May 2021

Disney Publishing is launch­ing new adult imprint Hyperion Avenue, headed by Jennifer Levesque, with its first books launching in Summer 2021, and a full slate expected by Fall 2022. They anticipate releasing 50 to 60 titles per year within five years, and hope to acquire titles that can be adapted for Disney’s various media arms, including streaming service Disney+. The Walt Disney Co. previously sold most of its adult publishing business to Hachette about eight years ago.

Penguin Random House Publishing Services will take over distribution of Marvel’s comic books, trade compilations, and graphic novels to comic shops start­ing on October 1, 2021. Diamond Distribution previ­ously handled distribution to the direct market, and will continue to wholesale Marvel books. Hachette Book Group will distributes Marvel titles to bookstores.

Penguin Random House is offering indie bookstores an extra month to pay their invoices, beginning on May 1, 2021, as a form of pandemic relief. Jaci Updike, president of sales, explained, “We have been listen­ing carefully to what kinds of support will be most helpful to indies in 2021, especially those who have been struggling during the pandemic, and what we hear most consistently is that small businesses need flexibility, and the ability to manage their invoices and split payments in different ways during times of uncertain cash flow.”

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