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5th July 2008

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Morris asks: 'judge us by results'

03.01.08 Tom Tivnan

Tony Morris, c.e.o. of The History Press, has asked agents, authors and suppliers to "judge us by our results", as the newly formed company seeks to turn around Alan Sutton's ailing NPI Media Group.

The new business was created on 18th December, after NPI was put into "pre-pack" administration, where a deal for sale is put in place prior to an administration order. Pre-pack sales are often to existing management or in cases where a company wants to avoid bad publicity by going insolvent. The move enabled NPI's private equity backers, Octopus Investments, to transfer all imprints, including Tempus and Sutton Publishing, to the new group.

Sutton has left the company, though he is understood to be weighing a bid for NPI's Gloucestershire printing business, which was not transferred to The History Press.

Morris admitted that with NPI's assets in administration, The History Press was not legally obliged to honour any outstanding contracts. But he reiterated a desire to assure authors, saying that royalty cheques were going out “in a systematic fashion”. He added: "We believe in our authors. We have plans for digital expansion where content is king. So we want them to be unequivocally happy."

But some agents and authors were concerned that outstanding royalties would not be paid. Meg Davies, who represents Sutton author Paul Heiney, said the situation was "still a mess". She added: "We had the press release about the new company. A royalty cheque would have been better, and it would have been quicker to write." Agent Andrew Lownie, who has 11 authors with The History Press, said: "I’m still very concerned [and] I would still like to see a full audit of their books."

One supplier said he was adopting a "wait and see approach" to whether outstanding debts totalling "some thousands" would ever be paid. He added: "I'm not sure about the new set-up. It seems that it's all the same people, they just took Alan Sutton out of the equation."

Todays Picks Alan Sutton tom tivnan NPI Tony Morris The History Press

Comments on this article

By Clive Keeble

There has been a serious lack of clear transparency from the past and present directors of NPI : speaking as an indie bookshop proprietor I can see considerable "worth" in some History Press titles which the management have acquired by default - however, I very much judge the current full price sales prospects of their imprints by the large selection openly available on the overstock and remainder market. Under such circumstances, it would take a very brave (or foolhardy) retailer to be purchasing many titles on full rrp terms. Authors, and their agents, and past suppliers to NPI have my deepest sympathy. Sutton Publishing, when owned by Haynes, did a reprint exclusively for my business : different days.

By James Watts

'judge us by our results' Er,what results? Authors don't seem to be getting paid either by the new company or by the old one who ripped us off left,right and centre.An audit certainly would be a good thing.

By Suttonalia

l'Investisseur's recommendation on the previous thread that authors demand what they are owed is sound in principle. However, it has not been possible for many months to determine how many sales have been made, or at what discount.

By Optimist

Look this time last month the firm didn't evan have the paper to print to invoices. Subsequently waiting until the end of January seems reasonable. And before you all swoop down on me I too hope for some royalties. I, however take the approach that at least it didn't disappear completely and therefore there is still the possibility of some payment being made (hopefully). However I do agree with Mr. Keeble's comments on stock price, some publications are far too expensive.

By Author

I just had a book published by Tempus. Do other authors feel there is anything that authors can do jointly to improve the situation?

By Another author

This time last week I was nearing completion of my latest book commissioned by my publisher, Sutton, blissfully unaware of what was going on. I received the 'Dear Author' letter from Tony Morris, which came as a bolt from the blue. Now thanks to my agent and the Bookseller website I have learnt the truth about the utter chaos surrounding this new company. Do I still have a contract and will I ever get paid for my months of hard writing? Sorry, Mr Morris, but I am not 'unequivocally happy'. I'd love to join with other authors to improve the situation - there must be many unagented authors who are still unaware. We should all try to spread the word.

By Yet another author

I am also in the process of writing a book commissioned by Sutton and with five other titles still being sold by the company and apparently no proper sales figures available I fear Mr Morris may come to regret that 'judge us by our results'. From where I'm standing the results look pretty bad. I discovered tonight that a Spanish translation of one of my books was published in March 2007 - the author should not have to find this out on Amazon!

By Interested

Would any of the authors be able to post the exact contents of the letter they were sent from Mr Morris here? It would be interesting to know precisely what people are being told.

By Fionn Murphy

Any ideas what NPI stood for? No Payment Intended perhaps? Any suggestions for THP - The Hoax Perpetuated? Flippancy apart, it's a shameful way to treat authors, suppliers and staff.

By Peter de Loriol

I'm still awaiting my royalty cheque that should have been payed in September by NPI....no chnage there I see.

By Andrew Rose

My experience of Sutton has been pretty dismal, too. Although the rights to my latest book were acquired in 2005 and publication was in July 2007, the title did not show up in the Sutton catalogue. Much of the book's publicity was drummed up by me. After good national reviews and a two-page digest in a mass-circulation daily, the hardback run sold out in early November. The promised reprint didn't happen, so losing Christmas sales. And there's the little matter of illustration reproduction fees, shelled out in good faith on the expectation of reimbursement per contract. Hope springs eternal...

By Crikey!

If I hadn't hawked my book around myself its only outlet would have been Amazon. And even when I did get editors at papers interested the publishers never sent them out. And as for 'illustration reproduction fees' clearly I'm seriously out of pocket. One of my books cost around £1000 to produce + time to write, I don't even know how many copies it sold. Should I be miserable or just take my other contracts away? 'Optimist' looks forward to payment - so do we all!

By JULIAN RIVERS

Give the new guy a chance to sort it out I suggest . He sounds genuine and he needs a bit of support in these difficult times . He didn't create the mess , he is not the problem but is hopefully the solution .

By optimist

I fully agree with Julian. It will take time to sort out all this. What about the staff of the previous company? I bet some of those have had a real bad Christmas with all that breaking the week before. As I said before I too am waiting for payment, however I am convinced it will turn up in one way shape or another.

By Clive Keeble

Those who are unaware about the current extent of Octopus Private Equity investment in The History Press can see details via the following webpage http://www.octopuspe.com/company.php?id=33 this also links to a pdf formatted press release. Worth a read to keep up to speed.

By Nicholas Murphy

I find it hard to agree with Julian Rivers, Mr Morris and his colleagues were members of the board of NPI. What on earth were they doing last year as things went so badly wrong ? Didn't they have board meetings ? Didn't the financial director flag up the problems with the accounting system ? Where were the management accounts ? Didn't the sales director mention poor sales ? Was there no discussion of the rapidly approaching desperate situation ? It appears they fiddled as NPI sank.

By Former employee

I got my redundancy notice today, along with a speeding fine and a credit card statement. Thinking of those fat cats licking the cream all christmas makes me feel bilious.

By Another concerned Sutton author

I am another author with Sutton who has not received the letter from Tony Morris, has not received royalty statements since the takeover last year, has had little information or no information on what is going on and shares everyone's concern about the future, especially as I have recently submitted another book to them. Marketing and promotion of books is abysmal with no support to the author's own efforts in this field. The loss of some very good staff from Sutton does not make one any more optimistic about the future.

By Nicholas Murphy

I think it about time the "concerned authors" revealed themselves. You have nothing to be ashamed of. How many of you are camping out at the History Press offices ? How many of you are in touch with your solicitor ? Nothing will happen unless you get to grips with this situation.

By Sutton mutton

Author victims of the shotgun wedding to History Press might appear in droves if someone who knew how, or even the Society of Authors, would set up an online History Press Authors Group to give them a forum without the understandable fear of royalty retrubutions.

By Charlotte Zeepvat

OK, Nicholas Murphy. I commented above as 'Yet another author' because anonymity seemed to be the order of the day, but have since regretted not giving my name. I'm Charlotte Zeepvat, have written five books for Sutton and I'm not ashamed, only disturbed and angry about the catalogue of mistreatment that's coming out on these pages. It doesn't sit very well with a company that claims to value its authors....

By Nicholas Murphy

Well done Charlotte ! What about the others ? Stand up and be counted the rest of you, only by using your names will you shame THP into doing the right thing. You've done the work, now they must pay; you all have contracts.

By Former History Press Employee

Comment removed, 10/1/08, following unsuitable notification.

By J.V.A. Robinson

I am another author who willingly declares himself. Since my book was published in March 2007, all I have received is one copy of the book. After months and months of obfuscation, I am now obliged to conclude I have been deceived right from the start. Like other authors here, I suggest we form some lobby of protest to demand an audit and the information to which we are entitled. For authors to keep mum in the hope they will somehow be 'spared' is not only mean-spirited but foolish. Let us act together.

By Nicholas Murphy

Come on chaps, reveal yourselves. There's no shame.

By Angry Bun

This website is a revelation! I only discovered the takeover via a printed note from the Sales Department on 5th Jan - not one from Mr. Morris. I do not have an agent, and like the comment from Another Author I was 'blissfully unaware of what was going on'. I spent all last week trying to speak to anyone in the know, to no avail. As with previous dealings when things have gone wrong with this company, up comes the wall of silence. With several books suposedly in the pipeline - and no contracts, they probably won't materialise now. Until I read articles on this website I had no idea our royalties were in jeopardy! My dealings with this concern have not been good - no royalties would just be the last straw! Like other authors who have posted on here, I had to do my own publicity at my own expense. I never dreamed that being asked to publish a book would ever cost me so much time and money. As for Advances...what are they and who gets those! They were never on my books radar! It appears to me that one has to be a 'Joan Collins' to reap any rewards in the publishing world. Well, I have learned a valuable lesson, I feel used and abused and know for sure I must have MUG imprinted upon my forehead, followed by 'Produced by npi Media' in VERY, VERY small print.

By Clive Keeble

Those who have taken the trouble to read the Press Release issued by The History Press following their packed purchase from administration might have noticed that the said publishers intend to market themselves using digital format ; presumably this is one reason why the Stroud printing works were not included in the package. Halsgrove are already exploring this market via Halsgrove Digitial Downloads on a few older "heritage" titles. Speaking as a traditional bookseller I would have serious reservations about the short-term viability of such "delivery" methods.

By spamalot

I think the reason the print works weren't kept was because the printing plant wasn't paid for! It was another debt to remove from the equation. I am aware that £2.1M of the debt was in the form of huge payments to Oaklands Printing and £0.5M unpaid purchase price for the Histry Press company in North America.It seems the books in their distribution centre aren't even paid for. Will I see my royalties for my book - I damn well hope so! My publisher is no longer there - left at Christmas supposedly, so the letter that stated the same staff are in position is a nonsense. How many other people have gone recently?

By Author

Iv just been screwd by Tempus.What am i going to do ? drive down there with a few of the lads and remove goods to the value of what im owed.Do not go near this or the new company
Comment edited, 25th February 2008

By Chris

Tony Morris has said that royalty cheques are going out "in a systematic fashion". Have any of the authors here received a cheque yet or heard of someone who has? I certainly haven't! If this situation really is being sorted out then I don't mind waiting a bit longer but it would put my mind at ease if I knew that payments truly are being made.

By spamalot

Just found this on the society of authors website - looks like we might only get our money if we're blackmailed into staying with The History Press - NOT GOOD!!!. Members may reasonably ask whether these corporate changes have been lawful and what the implications are for authors. As far as we can ascertain, both Sutton and Tempus went into administration in mid December. It appears that certain assets of those companies, including the author contracts, have been assigned to the History Press. However, contracts cannot be transferred in such circumstances without the author's consent. In addition, some contracts - depending on the wording - terminate automatically when the publisher goes into administration. The History Press has said that it will be seeking authors' consent to the change of publisher (the process is called 'novation'). The promised payment of arrears of royalties will, it seems, be conditional on authors agreeing to move to the History Press. Mr Morris has confirmed to us that any author who does not wish to move to the History Press is welcome to revert rights and take his/her book elsewhere, but they are then unlikely to receive arrears of royalties, Sutton Publishing Ltd being in administration (with, one assumes, debts that far exceed assets).

By Big Al

Seem only fair to point out that the paragraph before the ones 'Spamalot' chose to put up here, from the same Society of Authors article reads: "After their bad experiences in 2007, most authors seem distinctly hesitant but willing, on balance, to give Mr Morris the benefit of the doubt - at least for the time being. He appears to be trying hard to re-establish the credibility and viability of the imprints." Just for the sake of balance, etc.

By Nicholas Murphy

Bollocks. Contact your lawyer NOW

By spamalot

I'm with Nicholas Murphy - so much so that I indeed asked a lawyer the situation and what Mr Morris says is correct. THP have purchased the stock off NPI (in administration) and are under no obligation to pay any royalties whatsoever on copies sold by NPI or subsequent sales by themselves. We effectively become creditors of NPI - not that there is any money there to pay us. The fact that we will have to sign an undertaking to ensure we get our royalties is correct! That means that we have the choice of having our rights reverted now, and losing all owed and future royalties on the stock in hand, or we sign a piece of paper and get our royalties at some point. Of course, that does mean that THP can then re-negotiate all our contracts and stick us on lower royalties if they so desire. So much for Mr Morris's words in his impersonal letter to me that stated ' our immediate priority is to ensure that our authors are paid in full in a proper and timely fashion. The History Press is committed to honouring all the outstanding royalty payments in full.' Call me cynical but I am inclined to believe the comments he made to the Society of Authors over any claptrap he may have said to me in his round-robin letter. So let us quote Mr Morris again 'Mr Morris has confirmed to us that any author who does not wish to move to the History Press is welcome to revert rights and take his/her book elsewhere, but they are then unlikely to receive arrears of royalties' Am I inclined to believe his letter or his later comment to the Society of Authors? I know which I am going to believe. Quite frankly, I'd rather lose a few hundred pounds of royalties and get my book's rights back from this publishing group.

By Clive Keeble

As an indie bookseller, I would question just how many retail outlets are prepared to take current titles on full rrp terms from The History Press, given the large number of NPI titles (probably approx 500) which are floating around on the overstock and remainder market. It will be many moons before I am prepared to trust that Tony Morris and his fellow board members will make some attempt to protect the value of their titles and not continue the Alan Sutton philosophy of selling "overstocks" within months of publication. Tempus and Sutton have in the past (when Alan Sutton was not part of their businesses) published some fantastic titles which are near definitive works ; Phillimore were at the top of the academic local history publishers ; different days, different ways.

By Robert Forsythe

Author of three Tempus books see my website www.forsythe.demon.co.uk . The most recent was From Tilbury to Tyneside published 30.11.06 for which I have received absolutely no sales figures, no royalty statement and no money. Wrote to Tony Morris earlier in January and have had no acknowledgement.

By Author

Yes, I'm the one who started anonymous and I'm staying that way... my question: how can Spamalot say "That means that we have the choice of having our rights reverted now, and losing all owed and future royalties on the stock in hand". Surely if I have the rights they can't publish the stock can they?

By Optimist

Hi there. Remember me with such comments as '- waiting till the end of January seems reasonable' and ' - convinced it will turn up - '. Well just to balance everything up a little I received my royalties today. And it is consistant with the conversation I had with my Editor, who thankfully is also hanging on in there. This whole episode has been a sharp learning curve for me. I now realise that it is unwise to write directly for one publisher, I am attending to that and without an agent if I can get one to represent my projects. I would like to say a big thank you to those constructive commentors on this list, your info and debate has been most informative. To those trying to whip people up -----------!

By The Realist

Well Optimist I'm glad you've been paid but myself and most other Sutton authors have not. Do I think I will - no. What's more what the History Press in reassigning the contracts is highly questionable. They are fast going to run out of money – businesses need cash coming in. At the same time the investors will come to realize that they've been sold a proverbial crock of something. Those still at the HP will be trying to convince them otherwise as they attempt to hang onto their jobs. It makes no rational sense, but then again the investors are in for a pretty penny and will do whatever it takes to keep the thing afloat, at least for a while.
Comment edited, 25th February 2008

By Anxious author

This link has a bit more news about the buyout: "www.londonstockexchange.com/LSECWS/IFSPages/MarketNewsPopup.aspx?id=1687633&source=RNS" I don't understand why HP can't tell us what their plans are. The new website says nothing and only lists a handful of books. What did they promise the investors in return for the extra money?

By David Ross

I would join a Tempus Author Action Group. Individually we have no clout; collectively we have muscle. History Press needs authors: if we reclaim rights on backlist titles and refrain from offering new books, then we have leverage.

By A Bookseller writes

Haynes should never have sold Sutton full stop. In all my considerable years of working with them (Sutton) and selling their books I found them an absolute Joy. They published good books at good prices, had one of the best PR Teams in Publishing and Had Helpful Friendly Happy staff. Yes, things were difficult to begin with profit wise but at the time that Haynes sold them they were just turning a corner to real profitability. I was Horrified when Alan Sutton bought them back and they got taken over by Tempus/NPI. I thought then that things would be downhill from then on and I was right! As an Author myself I feel for fellow Authors who had to resort to flogging their books themselves under Tempus/NPI. It certainly wouldn't have happened under Haynes!

By An Old Hand

Well, it finally seems as though this blog is running out of steam. Probably not a bad thing, but there is one thing everyone should remember. Local books and small/ish history titles do not make much money. It’s a cottage industry. Every title requires a disproportionate amount of time and effort and this makes the size of publishers of this kind of material critical. Become too big and cross over into high staffing levels brought about by the need for a larger distribution set up (which includes marketing, sales, publicity and physical distribution) and of course more editorial and other head office staff and any profitability disappears very quickly and permanently. Haynes is a very professional company and they couldn’t keep Sutton Publishing going, I don’t know how anyone expected NPI or expects The History Press to succeed. The ratios are all wrong.

By Spamalot

It's now the 25th of January and no royalties, and no further communication from THP since before Xmas! Anyone else been paid their royalties or is it just lucky 'Optimist' who's had something?

By Rex Sly Suttons author

I have 2 books in print with who, Sutton/NPI, History Press ?? with no royalty payments since 2006. Does the History press have the rights to carry on selling my books without Royalty payments ? I gather there are around 4000 authors involved individually we should get together to protedt our rights. Rex Sly

By Rex Sly

Do the anonymous comments from authors also not put their names on their books?

By A. N. Onymouse

There's nothing underhand about anonymity here. Some people - authors or employees - whose financial future depends on a working relationship with, or good references from, a publisher who has already let them down badly may be able to express themselves more frankly that way. Just as the right to a secret ballot is a great British freedom.

By J.V.A. Robinson

AN OPEN LETTER TO MR TONY MORRIS Dear Mr Morris, It is obvious to me now that throughout 2007 I was repeatedly lied to whenever I spoke to anyone at Tempus Books regarding a book of mine that they were publishing. I never received my quota of 6 books, receiving in fact only one. I never received any information about promotion or subsequent sales of my book and I never received any royalties. I did however receive your circularised letter in January assuring me that all would be well now that you were in charge. However, since then, nothing. The promised new website has not materialised and I have received no replies to my reasonable requests for specific information. If you are sincere - and judging from comments in these columns there are those who think you might be - I request that you answer this letter here in this column or in a statement to the Bookseller, stating the current situation apropos your takeover of Tempus Books. p.s. I am informed that you are an author yourself, in which case you will understand how sickening it is for us authors who have to stand by and see their books still being sold through Amazon and elsewhere, without knowing whether or not they are ever going to get their due.

By Tempus author

Seems a reasonable request. What on earth is going on?

By eternal optimist (Not!)

It's February, a clear month after pantomime season is over for another year. Will History Press pay us some money. 'Oh yes, we will', says Mr Morris to the Bookseller, 'Oh no, we won't', he says to the Society of Authors ('unless you authors agree to working with us in the future!'). Royalties are now eight months overdue, with a new batch now a month and a half overdue. If History Press were even half serious about our royalties, they'd have done something by now - a letter, a cheque, a bacs payment, an apology even. But, no! Nothing! Not even a magic bean or a golden egg! I doubt there's even a crock of gold at the end of this rainbow. I realise that there is no company to sue over this (because NPI has no money and is in administration) but I really object to this bunch of shysters selling my sweat, blood and tears while I get no reward. Mr Morris, why not either tell us we're getting nothing or actually pay us what we are owed and give us a timescale for doing so. Slippage may be an excuse in publishing but not when it comes to paying our royalties. Fee! Fie! Foe! Fum!?? I smell the blood of an Englishman. Be he 'live, or be he dead, I'll forget to pay his royalties and spend the money on my salary and share options instead.

By Two other authors

Every time we have called THP we have been told different 'facts' by different people. The print run of our book, and numbers sold,has changed three times - steadily downwards - obviously in an attempt to reduce the amount of royalties that should be paid but, quite clearly, won't be.
Comment edited, 1st March, 2008

By Cynic

Does anybody know what the legal situation is regarding authors who wish to offer their book (currently in the hands of Tony Morris) to another publisher?

By FAO Cynic

If you signed an NPI contract (Tempus/Stadia/Nonsuch) there is a standard clause in your contract somewhere about clause 16 or 17 which tells you that your rights reverted back to you the instant THP went into administration. The Sutton contracts vary considerably, hence some of the challenges of inputting data from them to the NPI royalties system. But, if your contract has a clause in which all rights revert back to you upon the Publisher going into administration, then your rights are yours and you can take your book away to any publisher who might want it, with no comeback from THP. If you have signed a contract with THP or you/they have novated your previous contracts (if they've paid a royalty, then assume the publishing rights may be theirs now). However, if you are unpaid, have a book where the contract was signed with NPI and associated companies before 18 December 2007 and still in their system awaiting publication, then the rights reverted back to you. I do not believe that Pitkin/Jarrold or Phillimore went into administration so their contracts are still legal and binding. So, to sum up, check your contract/s. If there is a clause that reverts the rights back to you in the case of the company going into administration, the rights are yours unless you have agreed otherwise. This covers Sutton/Tempus/Nonsuch/Stadia/Spellmount. Hope this helps.

By Iain Manson

All deeply depressing. Late last year it seemed that I was on the point of signing a contract with Tempus. As I have been very busy finishing a book for another publisher, I have only just discovered what has happened. I've little to add to what has already been said, but I would like to support those recommending that authors who have been wronged do not hide their identities. I wouldn't worry about being blacklisted in future. Everybody can see how appallingly you've been treated, and a publisher who would blacklist you because you dare to complain is a publisher best avoided anyway. A more general point. Small or specialised publishers, rather like small of specialised booksellers, have never had it so bad. It's time we wised up to what is happening. The big beasts really are taking over the world, and it's very difficult to see what can be done about it. If I try to look beyond the present travails of Alan Sutton's little empire, I see only gloom ahead -- none of the proud old names of publishing surviving except as imprints of giant multinational media conglomerates, and all vying for a small number of big-name writers, many of whom are probably functionally illiterate. Thank God for whisky.

By David Royden, Partner - Laytons Solicitors

I have been contacted and asked if I am willing to provide legal advice and, if appropriate, legal assistance to authors who may have suffered loss or financial detiment as a consequence of the recent administration of NPI and the apparent transfer of some of its assets/imprints to The History Press. Can anyone who falls into this category please e-mail me at david.royden@laytons.com providing details of their position in relation to the above so that I may evaluate matters further. At this stage I should state that, pending further information, it is not clear whether there is any potential legal issue to address. However, I am pleased to accept further details and information without any charge or obligation for the purposes of a clearer evaluation of the position. Kind Regards David Royden

By Making people redundant now

THP Editorial job losses. Staff have just been told that there are job losses being made in THP Editorial and marketing departments. This is obviously the start of the next slippery slope and doesn't bode well for future books!

By Making people redundant now

THP job losses - it seems that many of the ediorial department (at least half of the commissioning editors/publishers) are going as well as almost two thirds of the trainees who are here! The company is trying to find a buyer for some parts of its lists.

By Judge us by our results

Tony Morris - answer me this! What results? I ask you now, why have my royalties still not been paid? Why are the staff I deal with running scared of being made redundant? Why are you getting rid of the people who make the books and keeping all the ones in sales and finance who seem to have been incapable of doing their jobs (if they had, more books would have been sold, and more royalties would have been paid)? Why did you not take a drop in salary from the huge pay rise you got if things are so bad? Why am I bothering to write this when you ignore e-mails, letters and phone calls? So, your attempts at results look pretty bad then! As far as I can see from the outside looking in you seem to have no money and no understanding of business or the book trade, or even of the people who rely on you for their livliehoods. I can't believe how many people's lives you are upsetting just now. Authors unpaid, staff being made redundant, a website that is full of errors and duplication but only with a fraction of the books even one branch of the company published. I've 'waited and I've seen', and I don't like what I've seen either! I think the History Press is the Terminal 5 of the book world - It's not working, no one knows what to do to make it work and the people who suffer are the innocent parties who all along have paid your wages while their royalties remain unpaid.

By Another optimist

Around four months after receiving Tony Morris's letter announcing that HP had acquired the assets of NPI Media and his assurance that 'our authors are paid in a proper and timely fashion,' I have recieved a Royalty cheque and statement. I had previously received a cheque from Tempus in Feb. 2007, then nothing until today. Today's cheque covered the two missing statement periods: Oct 2006-Mar 2007, Apr 2007-Sept 2007. Although I have had no replies from e-mails sent to HP, I did have a very useful telephone conversation with the HP Accounts Dept in February. All in all, since the December letter, from my own experience, progress has been a little better than I expected.

By J.V.A. Robinson

Why should 'optimists'- if they are genuine - hide their identities? I am not an optimist but nevertheless herewith give my email address to which anyone who has anything useful to say can contact me. (This also includes Tony Morris, for I am just dying to hear from him or any other of the crowd at what was once Tempus Books!) drjvar@inbox.com

By Stephen Butt

I am an author with Tempus Publishing. I have received two letters from Tony Morris over the past two months and a written promise that the overdue royalties will be paid by a given date. I have also been advised that The History Press wishes to reprint my book. On face value, this all sounds reasonable and fair.

By Stephen Butt

Referring to an earlier query, NPI stood/stands for "Nonesuch Publishing International" (derived I presume from the American imprint of Tempus Publishing).

By spamalot

The name NPI stood for Nonsuch Publishing International - which referred to the group's operations in Ireland (now sold), France, Germany, Belgium and the USA. I remember those days nostalgically - royalties were paid on or close to time, the staff were not in fear of their jobs, lots of interesting books were published, the bosses actually did something and there wasn't a useless level of middle management producing diddly squat! I'm looking forward to seeing the much-promised but so-far-undelivered results. IN answer to Stephen Butt, if he considers the company selling his book but not paying his royalty until at least a year after it should have done fair then he has a much better opinion of the world than I do. I had a letter in December and then another last week, none of which have satisfied the legal requirement by The History press to novate my contract - which involves the express agreement of both parties in writing. With almost £500k of royalties unpaid and overdue, I'm unsure that I will be paid mine (on time or otherwise).

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