Monday News: A singular bookstore, 50 Shades lawsuit damages, and the whiteness of publishing

JanePublishing Newsbookstores / diversity / lawsuits5 Comments

Arlington woman wins $11.5 million in Fifty Shades of Grey lawsuit?- Jennifer Pedroza, the Texas woman who claimed that Amanda Hayward unlawfully excluded her from profits for the three Fifty Shades novels, which were originally published through The Writer’s Coffee Shop, which Pedroza and Hayward ran, along with another woman. Unfortunately, the women never signed a binding partnership agreement. Hayward’s attorneys will, of course, appeal (in Texas) the decision, arguing against a partnership as the Texas court defined it.

“Saying it was time to “put the case to bed,” Tarrant County District Judge Susan McCoy signed an order Thursday awarding Pedroza $10,634.587 in royalties. A jury said last year that Pedroza was cheated out of her portion of the earnings by Amanda Hayward of Australia, a partner in a business that originally published the book. . . .

While records on the royalties have been sealed, court testimony and documents revealed that the novel made at least $40 million for the partners, about $3 million since the lawsuit was filed.”  Star-Telegram

Straight White Women Run Publishing According to New Survey?- Newsflash: white-dominated traditional publishing is doing a shitty job of fostering diversity in published books (and, it seems, in publishing houses themselves):

“. . . a new survey of the publishing industry by Lee & Low shows James might have been right all along. The survey looked at 70 publishers in the US and Canada, including three of the Big 5 (Hachette, Penguin Random House, and Macmillain) as well as many smaller publishers. The survey revealed that the publishing industry is overall 79% white, 78% women, and 88% straight. Even at the executive level, straight white women accounted for the majority of positions and at the editorial level a huge 84% of desks belong to white women.” – Electric Lit

Japanese Bookstore Sells Only One Book At A Time – Yoshiyuki Morioka, owner of Morioka Shoten, has, since May 2015, been selling one book a week, including titles by Tove Jansson, Karl Blossfeldt, and even Hans Christian Anderson.

“To highlight his sole offering, Morioka often uses clever props. For example, when selling a book about flowers, the entrepreneur decorated his shop with the ones that had been mentioned in the book. He also encourages featured authors to hold multiple talks and discussions so they can connect with customers. Morioka says his ultimate goal is for the client to experience being inside a book, not just a bookstore!” – DOGO News

The Black Victorians (Victorian Era 1800s-1900s) – A few books, too.  – YouTube & Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina

Jane

Jane Litte is the founder of Dear Author, a lawyer, and a lover of pencil skirts. She self publishes NA and contemporaries (and publishes with Berkley and Montlake) and spends her downtime reading romances and writing about them. Her TBR pile is much larger than the one shown in the picture and not as pretty. You can reach Jane by email at jane @ dearauthor dot com

→ Jane