The Bookseller notes that Penguin is now negotiating with the Wylie Agency over e-book rights for the three Penguin titles Wylie was publishing through Odyssey Editions. This comes shortly after Random House struck a deal with Wylie over its 13 of Odyssey’s 20 books.
If Penguin succeeds in extricating its e-book rights from Wylie’s clutches, that only leaves Odyssey with four titles—and it’s anyone’s guess how long those will stay once their print publishers come calling now that Wylie’s been shown to be willing to deal. Not really so much of a publisher anymore, is it?
I hope Wylie looks at Penguin’s e-book sales figures before closing a deal. I, for one, don’t buy Penguin titles at all, and I know that I am not the only one given pause by Penguin’s e-book pricing. (I am one of those who no longer buys new print texts at all.)