Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Lit Gossip: Houghton Mifflin Hardcourt Temporarily Halts Acquisitions
Posted by Sharon on Tue, Nov 25, 2008 at 3:00 PM
It will be a Barnes & Noble holiday for many of us (or Borders: sign up for their rewards card and you'll get emailed coupons every single day, until the end of the world), but not for the acquisition editors at Houghon Mifflin's Hardcourt imprint, reports Publishers Weekly. The VP of communications for HMH, Josef Blumenfeld, attempts to make sure we know that this doesn't mean everyone should cuddle up in bed with their Xbox and Gchats and movie-films and gossip blogs. Don't stop reading, etc.:
"In this case, it's a symbol of doing things smarter; it's not an indicator of the end of literature," he said. "We have turned off the spigot, but we have a very robust pipeline." The action by the highly leveraged HMH may also be as much about the company's need to cut costs in a tight credit market.as about the current economic slowdown."Of course, some literary agent, who wouldn't provide their name for fear Blumenfeld will come and egg his/her house for being such a Negative Nancy/Ned, called the climate and HMH's decision "very scary." We're screwed, obvs.
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