Okay, so clearly this isn't by any means NEW news. I still only learned about it today, though, perhaps because my head is buried in the sand further than I thought. Since I'm a reader I should technically say instead that it's been buried too far in a book. Either way, just learned this news and I think it seems good on the surface. After reading the news, it seems they will now become the biggest publishing house. It also seems Harper Collins was bidding on buying Penguin, but this merger prevents that and now the new company will be called Penguin Random House.
Some have been bemoaning Penguin Publishing group as of late for their policies on ebook lending prices with libraries and the suit with Apple on Ebook pricing unfairness. I'm not sure on the details of these issues, but Penguin is a major book publishing company and it would have been a shame to see them go under completely. Right now the book industry is on a steadily declining slope, so the two merging may be a good thing for them, authors, literary agents, publishers, and readers alike.
The CEO of the merged company will be the former CEO of Random House (Markus Doyle) while the Chairman will be John Makinson, who is currently the CEO of Penguin Publishing. The contract is currently set for three years, and after that negotiations can be up again.
Some are saying that by forming a giant such as this, they are hoping to come out as the ruling Publishing house and will oversee 40% of US book publications. Others argue Amazon and the internet digital age will still be in the win. I think personally they can work together well, with small hiccups in the way, to hopefully both survive and remain strong. Publishing companies need all the help they can get in this modern age of digital files, illegal book downloading, free ebooks handed out, Amazon's low-cost prices for buyers but not for the marker, and self-publishing making a bigger trend.
Some of Penguins Biggest Writers include Nora Roberts and Patricia Cornwell, and for Random House E.L. James and George R.R. Martin.
Just for kicks, here's a link to an article showcasing different digital designs people came up with for the new logo of the merged company.
