The Authors Guild reports that Simon & Schuster, one of the largest book publishers in the US, “has altered its standard contract with authors in an effort to retain control of books even after they have gone out of print. Until now, Simon & Schuster, like all other major trade publishers, has followed the traditional practice in which rights to a work revert to the author if the book falls out of print or if its sales are low.”
The new contract claims that, so long as the book is “available in any form, including through Simon & Schuster’s own in-house database, even if no copies are available to be ordered by traditional bookstores,” the publisher can consider the book in print, and therefore maintain its exclusive control. Basically, the new language would grant Simon & Schuster rights to the book in perpetuity.
The Authors Guild is warning its members to be careful when signing a contract with Simon & Schuster, or to make sure their agents keep their eyes open. “Other major publishers have not followed suit,” said Authors Guild Executive Director Paul Aiken. “We’ll be watching for that, of course, since coordinated moves would have serious legal implications.”
Authors Guild President Roy Blount, Jr., decrying the move, said “A publisher is meant to publish, to get out there and sell our books. A publishing house is not supposed to be a place where our books are permanently squirreled away.”
Simon & Schuster’s imprints include genre publishers Aladdin, Atheneum, Fireside, Pocket, and Touchstone.
The full text of the Authors Guild press release is available on this page.
Following the publication of this article, Simon & Schuster responded. Their response is on this page. There is a further update to this story posted 5 June 2007.