February 10, 2009

Breaking news: HarperCollins closes Collins

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In a stunning development, an historic American publishing imprint is no more: HarperCollins has announced that, well, it’s no longer HarperCollins — it’s just Harper now. The company, a division of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., is closing down its Collins division, according to a memo obtained by Jim Milliot of Publishers Weekly. Milliot reports that, among other things, “Steve Ross, president and publisher of Collins, and Lisa Gallagher, senior v-p, and publisher of William Morrow, are leaving the company.” That’s not the end of people being let go, however: “In addition to closing Collins, CEO Brian Murray issued a memo today saying that despite efforts to avoid layoffs, a reduction in the workforce will be necessary.” The moves come hard on the heels of the release of crushing fourth quarter reports, as per this MobyLives report from yesterday.

Dennis Johnson is the founder of MobyLives, and the co-founder and co-publisher of Melville House.

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