The Bookseller.com

2nd December 2008

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Weidenfeld returns author advances

03.04.08 Tom Tivnan

Weidenfeld & Nicolson is understood to have written off a number of author advances as it continues to trim its non-fiction list. The reductions are said to be a fall-out from last summer's three job cuts in W&N's non-fiction editorial team. Orion is aiming to reduce W&N's non-fiction output to 50 titles a year, down from 100.

One agent who has had clients affected said: "My conservative estimate is that they are writing off contracts in the multiples of hundreds of thousands of pounds. Partly, I suspect it is because books were bought and now they do not have the editors inhouse to champion them."

Malcolm Edwards, Orion deputy c.e.o., would not confirm whether the company was writing off author advances. But he said: "There has been an exercise in a bit of cleaning up of our forward schedule."

Another agent said: "They have paid an advance back to my client and have been entirely honourable during the whole process. But it is unfortunate that we're at a stage where it is cheaper to write off an advance than publish a book."

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