Boy, is this skirmish turning into a real doozy. To recap, Australian book chain Angus & Robertson is might pissed off that suppliers that don’t contribute enough net profit to the Australian chain pay amounts, which means that it’s not in A&R’s interest to stock their books. The Sydney Morning Herald ran an angry letter from Tower Books which should be read in its entirety – start with how Charles Rimmer “literally burst out laughing aloud” upon receipt of A&R’s demands and go from there.
Now A&R has hit back, defending its actions to business broadsheet Crikey. Acknowledging that “the tone of this correspondence was inappropriate,” COO Dave Fenlon tries to set the record straight that negotiations are “purely about reaching a commercial arrangement with publishers,” not about alienating authors. How will publishers respond now? Stay tuned…