Publishing News

Hachette Book Group has announced their latest plan for employees to return to the New York offices on April 25, 2022. Offices elsewhere have return dates in April and May. They will begin a six-month pilot, following ‘‘a hybrid model, with all fully vaccinated office-based staff members required to work from the office two days per week.’’

Macmillan is launching a ‘‘hybrid/remote-friendly’’ pilot on April 4, to run through October: ‘‘employees whose work does not require them to be in the office have the flexibility to determine how and where they want to work: fully remote, 1-2 days in the office at an unassigned seat, or 3+ days in the office at an assigned seat.’’

HarperCollins is maintaining its hybrid model, letting individual teams choose the best policy for themselves.

Penguin Random House says, ‘‘Together with their managers, employees are encouraged to find the working arrangement, be it fully remote or hybrid, that is best suited for themselves and their teams.’’

Simon & Schuster is keeping their voluntary in-office policy in place until the Department of Justice lawsuit to block their merger with Penguin Random House is resolved.

Draft2Digital has acquired Smashwords, effective March 2022. ‘‘The acquisition unites the industry’s two most innovative and author-friendly publishing platforms into one, enabling the new Draft2Digital to drive even greater success for authors, publishers, and sales partners.’’ Their combined platforms include works by a quarter of a million authors and publishers, with 800,000 ebooks and 11,000 print-on-demand paperbacks in their catalogues. The Smashwords store will retain its name, but ‘‘the combined company will operate under the Draft2Digital name and will be headquartered in Oklahoma City. All Smashwords and Draft2Digital employees are expected to join the combination.’’

For more see the website.

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