Flying Start

Simon & Schuster CEO Jonathan Karp’s new imprint, Simon Six, has announced that its inaugural title, a new book by Neil deGrasse Tyson, will be published in May. German children’s book publisher and games company Ravensburger has acquired NordSüd, the parent company of U.S. children’s publisher NorthSouth Books. Scholastic is rolling out a line of shorter, fast-paced middle grade books this fall aimed at hooking a generation of young readers who grew up consuming digital content. Plus, the Association of American Literary Agents has named Daniel O’Brien, who formerly led the Independent Publishers Caucus, as its inaugural executive director. A New York judge has thrown out a lawsuit accusing a group of large academic publishers of limiting competition by denying pay for peer review services and barring submissions to multiple journals, reports Reuters. Damon Lindelof will adapt Adrian McKinty’s novel The Chain for HBO, per Variety. The Bookseller explains the importance of IP management and licensing to contemporary publishing. For the Guardian, Blake Montgomery unpacks TikTok’s tumultuous first week under American ownership. Comics creator collective Comix Action has launched a new campaign in support of Liam Conejo Ramos and other children abducted by ICE. And Drive novelist James Sallis and poet X.J. Kennedy have died at 81 and 96, respectively.