Doubleday Publishing has laid off
10% of its workforce.

The group, which is owned by Bertelsmann, the German media group, laid off people from its editorial, publicity, advertising, marketing and administrative staffs.
“It’s not a awesome year,” said David Drake, a Doubleday spokesman. “We’ve had a lot of best sellers, but does that translate into the numbers that we need and that everyone is looking for? Obviously not.”



Mr. Drake said the decision was not related to the delay in the delivery of the next novel by Dan Brown, the author of The Da Vinci Code, the blockbuster best seller published in 2003.
Back in 2004, Doubleday said the target release date for the next book was 2005, but Mr. Brown has yet to

deliver a manuscript. Sales from even a single title - if it is as significant as The Da Vinci Code - can make a substantial difference to a publisher’s sales.



Nevertheless, “the changes we’ve made are quite separate from anything to do with Dan Brown,” Mr. Drake said.

And speaking of Dan Brown, we’ve heard rumors that The Solomon Key is nearing completion. Angels and Demons will come out as a feature film in May, 2009 — we’re thinking that would be a logical release date.



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Original post by ReadersRead.com Book Blog