Waterstone’s proposed higher discount, flat rate terms for publishers, put forward in exchange for scrapping promotion fees, could hit author royalties, according to agents and the Society of Authors.

Contracts vary widely, but typically contain a high discount clause which kicks in at a particular discount level, after which...

Odyssey Editions - the new digital publishing venture set up by agent Andrew Wylie - has little commercial value, Penguin chief executive John Makinson has said.

Referencing a piece published in the FT last week, which "speculated on the death of publishing in the context of a little local difficulty between Andrew Wylie",...

The US Authors Guild has urged publishers to respond to The Wylie Agency's move to start publishing e-books by offering higher e-royalty rates to authors. In a statement sent to authors and posted online the group said it applauded the launch of Wylie's digital-only publishing house Odyssey Editions, arguing "publishers have...

The issue of electronic e-rights has been brought to the fore once again, with the Guardian reporting Tom Holland as saying current deals are "not remotely fair".

Speaking at the Romantic Novelists' Association...