The Hachette Book Group announced Thursday that it is "terminating" the Weinstein Books imprint, effective immediately. The decision follows a New York Times report exposing decades of sexual assault allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, his subsequent removal by the board of the company he co-founded, and scores of celebrities speaking out against him to the press.
HBG took over the imprint with its purchase of the Perseus Books Group, which had struck a co-publishing deal with the Weinstein Company in late 2009, through which Weinstein Books had published about 10 titles a year. In its statement, HBG said titles under the imprint will be now published by the Hachette Books imprint, and all Weinstein Books employees will join the Hachette Books team.
While today's action effectively kills the imprint, a spokesperson explained that the co-publishing agreement will be officially terminated "after the contractual notification period."
When news first broke about Harvey Weinstein's past actions, HBG told PW that the "Hachette Book Group will honor its contracts with writers who have come to us via Weinstein Books." The company noted that the author contracts were with HBG, not the Weinstein Company.
