On Friday, the Wall Street Journal, followed by the New York Times, provided an update on the standoff between Simon & Schuster and Barnes & Noble that has resulted in the chain cutting the number of titles it is carrying from the house and the amount of promotion support the books are getting. The dispute, over terms, first broke out in late January, when PW first reported that B&N was reducing orders over a perceived lack of financial support from S&S.
The WSJ provides more details about the issues at the core of the standoff which it said include e-book discounts and co-op payments as B&N looks to receive compensation for people discovering authors in their stores. S&S CEO Carolyn Reidy called the negotiations tough but told the WSJ she is confident the companies will eventually come to a resolution.
