Simon & Schuster and Amazon have reached a multi-year agreement for the sale in the U.S. of print and digital books. The deal, which goes into effect Jan. 1, reportedly came after a months-long process.

“We are very happy with this agreement, as it allows us to grow our business with Simon & Schuster and help their authors reach an ever-wider audience,” the Amazon books team posted online Oct. 20. “Importantly, the agreement specifically creates a financial incentive for Simon & Schuster to deliver lower prices for readers.”

Simon & Schuster CEO Carolyn Reidy announced the deal in a letter to authors and agents: “It is not our usual practice to announce such agreements, but our publishers and I feel that the high level of public speculation over the status of these talks made it important to let you know about this positive development. We are very happy with this agreement as it is economically advantageous for both Simon & Schuster and its authors and maintains the author’s share of income generated from eBook sales. It addresses our mutual concerns about preserving the value of our intellectual property in the marketplace, as it is a return to a version of agency pricing that, with some limited exceptions, gives control of eBook pricing to Simon & Schuster, while providing us the flexibility to deliver great prices for readers.”

Amazon’s contract dispute continues with another of the “Big Five” book publishers, Hachette Book Group, however. Significant best-selling authors—Stephen King, J.K. Rowling and John Grisham among them—signed a letter protesting Amazon’s tactics in the Hachette fray, but the online giant defended itself, working for e-book pricing that is not “unjustifiably high.”

“I think it will serve to make Hachette more frustrated with their inability to make a deal knowing that one of their competitors has reached a deal,” Richard Pine, a partner in the New York literary agency InkWell Management, told the Wall Street Journal.

Amazon also is due to negotiate new contracts with Penguin Random House, Macmillan and HarperCollins Publishers.

• Prev
• Next