This Week's Unpleasant Book-Publishing News

It's not that I expect a bunch of layoffs tomorrow -- it's just that I want to be ready if they happen. I hope not to have to update this post half a dozen times, as I did last week, but we'll see.

First up: Macmillan announced today (Tuesday, December 9th) that, like Penguin, all raises are frozen as of the new year for anyone making $50,000 or more. (Does that imply a flurry of end-of-the-year raises to some fair-haired sorts?)

And Wiley reported 2Q earnings Tuesday morning, at 2% above prior year, but I already blogged about that.

Update:
Fingers crossed, but there's nothing so far today (Wednesday).

So let me remind you that Sonny Mehta always wins. No one seems to be sure why; he just does.

Update (Thursday, Dec. 11):
Publishers Weekly reports that Canadian publisher Kids Can Press has eliminated three positions.

Chronicle Books also is having layoffs, "under 5%" of an unspecified current staff level.

Perseus Books Group is freezing raises, stopping hiring, and suspending 401(k) contributions, but not actually (yet?) firing anybody.