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Friday, June 29, 2012

Amazon to acquire defunct Dorchester

Unless, of course, you outbid them first


Richard Curtis, on Digital Book World, comments that Amazon's bid for the bankrupt publisher is good news for writers and agents.

After a long illness -- he says -- Dorchester Books has finally succumbed, a victim of the digital revolution to which the mass market paperback publisher could not adapt.

But if authors and agents read the fine print in today’s “Notice of Public Disposition” they will find the following phrase: “Secured Party will foreclose its security interest in and sell at public auction as a single unit through Garfunkel Wild, P.C., to Amazon Publishing, or such other higher and/or better bidder as may prevail at auction…”

And a little further down is the good news that authors and agents who had despaired of recovering royalties from the sinking publisher will be made whole by Amazon: ” All publication contacts regarding certain literary works (collectively, the “Works”) and related outbound license agreements of DP (collectively, the “Contracts”), subject to the purchaser negotiating certain amendments with the authors of the Works in exchange for payment by Amazon Publishing of the full amount of back royalties that DP indicates is owed to those authors as of May 31, 2012…”

Read the press release

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