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Writers' Block: Houghton Won't Acquire New Books
By JEFFREY A. TRACHTENBERG
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, one of the country's oldest and most prestigious publishers, said it will stop acquiring new books until further notice, an unusual move that shows how the slowdown in book sales is hurting publishing.
"We have a temporary freeze on," said Josef Blumenfeld, a spokesman for the publisher's trade and reference division, based in Boston and New York. "We are working on what we already have."
One literary agent, Amy Williams, a partner in New York-based McCormick & Williams, said she was surprised by the decision. "I have never seen a freeze before," she said. "I don't know how that model perpetuates itself if you aren't bringing in new product."
Houghton's much larger textbook division isn't affected by the stoppage, but the trade and reference division is big enough to publish about 400 titles a year, including the works of Philip Roth. Some of its books for coming years already are under contract, but many others normally would be new acquisitions. The company wouldn't provide figures.
Two industry veterans who looked at Houghton's 2008 list estimated that about half its books were acquired as new. That would mean a freeze of, say, three months could mean 50 fewer titles down the road. While some critics think too many books come out every year, publishers say they need a steady stream of fresh titles to attract a fickle reading public.
Book chains including Barnes & Noble Inc. and Borders Group Inc. have seen sales slow. Sales tracked by the Association of American Publishers fell 2% in September at $1.06 billion and were down by 1.5% for the year. "The climate is difficult," said Mr. Blumenfeld. "It's about cash outlays, and every outlay of cash in every industry is being scrutinized." Houghton is a unit of Education Media and Publishing Group Ltd., an Irish private equity firm.
Mr. Blumenfeld declined to put a time frame on the freeze. He noted that Houghton has many books in the pipeline and that "there are still things being considered by the acquisition committee." News of the action was reported Monday on Publishers Weekly's Web site.
To be sure, "freeze" is a murky term in business. If the next "War and Peace" appears at Houghton's doorstep, editors may persuade their superiors to buy it.
Writers' Block: Houghton Won't Acquire New Books
By JEFFREY A. TRACHTENBERG
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, one of the country's oldest and most prestigious publishers, said it will stop acquiring new books until further notice, an unusual move that shows how the slowdown in book sales is hurting publishing.
"We have a temporary freeze on," said Josef Blumenfeld, a spokesman for the publisher's trade and reference division, based in Boston and New York. "We are working on what we already have."
One literary agent, Amy Williams, a partner in New York-based McCormick & Williams, said she was surprised by the decision. "I have never seen a freeze before," she said. "I don't know how that model perpetuates itself if you aren't bringing in new product."
Houghton's much larger textbook division isn't affected by the stoppage, but the trade and reference division is big enough to publish about 400 titles a year, including the works of Philip Roth. Some of its books for coming years already are under contract, but many others normally would be new acquisitions. The company wouldn't provide figures.
Two industry veterans who looked at Houghton's 2008 list estimated that about half its books were acquired as new. That would mean a freeze of, say, three months could mean 50 fewer titles down the road. While some critics think too many books come out every year, publishers say they need a steady stream of fresh titles to attract a fickle reading public.
Book chains including Barnes & Noble Inc. and Borders Group Inc. have seen sales slow. Sales tracked by the Association of American Publishers fell 2% in September at $1.06 billion and were down by 1.5% for the year. "The climate is difficult," said Mr. Blumenfeld. "It's about cash outlays, and every outlay of cash in every industry is being scrutinized." Houghton is a unit of Education Media and Publishing Group Ltd., an Irish private equity firm.
Mr. Blumenfeld declined to put a time frame on the freeze. He noted that Houghton has many books in the pipeline and that "there are still things being considered by the acquisition committee." News of the action was reported Monday on Publishers Weekly's Web site.
To be sure, "freeze" is a murky term in business. If the next "War and Peace" appears at Houghton's doorstep, editors may persuade their superiors to buy it.
