Agreement reached to end HarperCollins strike
Graphic by Sunny Wei ‘23.
By Olivia Wilson ’24
Books Section Editor
After a grueling sixty-six-day strike that captured national headlines and involved almost 250 employees, the union at HarperCollins publishing has announced the ratification of a new contract and the conclusion of the strike. The demonstration began on Nov. 10, 2022, and officially ended on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, when employees returned to work after over two months of public and virtual demonstrations.
The new contract comes at a troubling time for HarperCollins, as they announced they would be cutting five percent of their U.S. workforce by June 30, according to Publishers Weekly. The New York Times reported that the company, which saw a surge in profits during the COVID-19 pandemic, is now suffering losses and is down 14 percent in sales from last year. HarperCollins CEO Brian Murray pointed to unprecedented supply chain and inflation costs as a reason for the layoffs.
Among other demands, the union has been negotiating for an increase in starting salary from $45,000 per year to $50,000 per year to compensate for the high living costs in New York City, where HarperCollins headquarters are located. There have also been demands for improved family benefits and a stronger initiative from the company in diversifying its workforce, according to a report from The New York Times.
The released terms of the contract include improved compensation and benefits, guaranteed annual raises for anyone rated above ‘unsatisfactory’ for work and paid time to participate in company diversity and inclusion initiatives. In addition, the contract allows employees to continue working remotely until July 1, 2023.
A statement from union President Olga Budastrova told Publisher’s Weekly that the union was incredibly pleased with the terms of the new contract, which will last through the end of 2025. In the statement, she told Publisher’s Weekly that she was “confident” that the contract would “lead to a long-lasting change in HarperCollins work culture and perhaps in publishing at large.”
Barnes & Noble causes uproar following controversial policy
Photo courtesy of Mike Mozart via Flickr.
Author Kelly Yang and Mount Holyoke student Sam Pittman ’23 critique Barnes & Noble’s 2019 policy for negative impact on marginalized authors.
Olivia Wilson ’24
Books Editor
On Aug. 18, bestselling middle-grade fiction author Kelly Yang posted a video to her Twitter expressing her disappointment in international bookstore chain Barnes & Noble concerning their 2019 bookselling policy. According to NBC News, this policy allows for the shelving of only the top two bestselling hardcover books per publisher each season, which has led to the rejection of thousands of authors, even those who had been stocked by the company in years past.
This is the case for Yang, who stated in her video that the fourth novel in her award-winning “Front Desk” series, “Key Player,” was among the middle-grade books that received the ax from the bookselling conglomerate. Yang posted the video, which garnered over 300,000 views, to her Twitter page after receiving the news. The media discourse attracted immediate criticism from authors and readers alike.
Midlist and marginalized authors were particularly impacted as thousands received the news that their books would not be displayed on Barnes & Noble shelves. Large bookselling retailers like Barnes & Noble are consequential to a book’s exposure and distribution, which contribute directly to garnering the sales needed for an author to continue writing.
In an interview with NBC News, some authors expressed their concern that in an industry that is vastly white, cisgender and straight, stories by authors in marginalized communities are vital for young readers who wish to find books where they are represented. As this policy takes effect, that may become harder to do as authors lose bargaining power from high sales. Barnes & Noble’s decision likely means that the books that will continue to receive attention and make profit are the ones that receive mainstream attention to begin with.
Laekan Zea Kemp — one of the affected authors — stated in an interview with NBC News that, “Straight, cis[gender], able-bodied and white-centered books” would continue to receive all of the attention, ultimately having a harmful impact on marginalized authors and readers.
According to a 2018 study by The New York Times, only 11 percent of published books in 2018 were authored by people of color, and a 2017 study by The University of Wisconsin-Madison found that their elementary and teen book collections in 2017 contained only 3.68 percent of books that prominently feature LGBTQ+ content – less than half of which were written by LGBTQ+ authors. As this new policy continues to impact exposure and sales from marginalized communities, authors worry that the numbers of diverse books will decline.
Mount Holyoke education studies major Sam Pittman ’23 was taken aback by the new bookselling strategy and offered another perspective on how Barnes & Noble’s policy would affect generations going forward. “I’m going to be a teacher,” Pittman said, “Something [education students] have been talking about a lot … is mirrors and windows in books, and [how] it’s important to see yourself in media and in books, but also [how] reading into other identities and experiences that are beyond your own … creates empathy and validates you.”
“Something [education students] have been talking about a lot … is mirrors and windows in books, and [how] it’s important to see yourself in media and in books, but also [how] reading into other identities and experiences that are beyond your own … creates empathy and validates you.”
Pittman continued by expressing their disappointment in Barnes & Noble’s new policy and the effects that it could have on students in the future. “When companies like Barnes & Noble say that only these bestsellers can be stocked, it sends a message of whose voice matters and [they’re saying] that is cis het authors who are white, because those are the people who get picked up by the] publishing companies.”
Barnes & Noble CEO James Daunt stated in an interview with NBC News that he disagreed “fundamentally” with the accusations levied by critics online, and that the purpose of the new policy was to allow the company to “exercise taste in the selection of new titles” and “Send lower initial quantities to stores.” He further stated that the new policy was part of an initiative by the company to give local store buyers more of a say in the book-selection process in the hopes of boosting company sales. He asserted that any critics of the new policy, including those with concerns about how diversity would be affected by the policy were “jumping at shadows.”
The long term effects of Barnes & Noble’s decision remain to be seen, but authors like Yang and Kemp and readers like Pittman are skeptical as to whether or not audiences in the future will be able to find books they relate to.
“It sucks,” Pittman said, “Books that can make such a difference in someone’s life are not going to be available in a bookstore.”
Kick back this summer with these three fiction reads
Kick back this summer with these three new fiction reads
By Olivia Wilson ’24
Staff Writer
In the spirit of summer’s approach, Mount Holyoke News has compiled a list of potential beach reads. These books — all authored by women — may help keep the Mount Holyoke vibes nearby no matter how far you are from campus.
“Book of Night” by Holly Black
“Book of Night” is the adult fiction debut of popular young adult and middle-grade author Holly Black. It is a “modern dark fantasy,” according to Goodreads. The novel takes place in a fictionalized version of the Berkshires where shadows can be manipulated by magicians called “gloamists,” who utilize the shadows for fittingly dark purposes. According to the book’s description on Black’s website, the story follows Charlie Hall, a low-level con artist and bartender, as she tries to survive while her friends and enemies fight to steal a powerful secret. It is set to release on May 3.
Described as a “master at world-building” by The New York Times Book Review, Holly Black grew up in New Jersey and is the author of over 30 books for young adults and middle school-aged children. Her other notable works include the beloved children’s series “The Spiderwick Chronicles” and the 2018 New York Times bestseller “The Cruel Prince.”
According to the Odyssey Bookshop website, Black resides in New England with her husband, son and secret library. A launch party for “Book of Night” will be held at the First Congregational Church in South Hadley on May 3 at 7 p.m.
“We Measure the Earth with our Bodies” by Tsering Yangzom Lama
“We Measure the Earth with our Bodies” takes place over the span of 50 years and recounts the story of an exiled Tibetan family affected by political violence and colonization. Told through the perspective of four different characters, the book follows the lives of a Tibetan refugee family as they struggle to survive and keep hold of their culture amid what the BBC described as the longstanding Chinese “claim to sovereignty” over Tibet. A review by Booklist characterized the novel as “[an] achingly beautiful debut.”
According to the biography page on her website, Tsering Yangzom Lama is a Tibetan writer born and raised in Nepal who currently lives in Vancouver, Canada. Her work has appeared in numerous books, magazines and other publications. She is also the co-founder of “LhakarDiaries,” a blog for Tibetan youth living in exile. She currently works for Greenpeace International as a storytelling advisor, coaching branches of the organization around the world on how to craft narratives. “We Measure the Earth with our Bodies,” Lama’s debut novel, is set to release on May 17.
“Human Blues” by Elisa Albert
Described as “virtuosic” and “brilliant” by The Washington Post and The New York Times, Elisa Albert’s “Human Blues” is told over the course of nine menstrual cycles. The story follows Aviva Rosner, a singer and songwriter who wants a child but is unable to get pregnant. She is wary of artificial insemination, and her decision to write her fears into her music leads to a surprising reaction from audiences. The book’s blurb on Goodreads describes it as a “bold, brainy, darkly funny” interrogation of society’s obsession with childbearing. The book is set to release on July 5.
Elisa Albert is also the author of the short story collection “How This Night Is Different” and the novel “The Book of Dahlia,” which follows a woman dying of brain cancer. According to The Odyssey Bookshop, Albert currently lives in upstate New York.
Daniel Black and Major Jackson discuss Black’s latest novel at the Odyssey Bookshop
“Daddy’s mind left like a dream at dawn, and now the encounter could only take place in my imagination, so that’s where I went,” the author’s note of Daniel Black’s latest novel, “Don’t Cry For Me,” reads.
Black, who won the Distinguished Writer Award from the Mid-Atlantic Writer’s Association in 2014, published his newest work, “Don’t Cry for Me” earlier this month.
