ComiXology Veterans David Steinberger and Chip Mosher Launch Comic Book Publishing Company
ComiXology co-founder and former CEO David Steinberger and former ComiXology head of content Chip Mosher are starting a new comic book publishing company, DSTLRY. “Comic creators have historically received the short end of the stick when they create great characters and storylines for traditional publishers,” Steinberger and Mosher said in a joint statement. “DSTLRY is truly a creator-owned endeavor, with creators co-owning the company their creations fuel. It just makes sense that as creators help build the brand, they receive equity.” DSTLRY is aiming to provide comic creators with fairer deals and a stake in the company. DSTLRY has set aside an additional 3% of company equity to distribute among comic creators releasing projects with the company in its first three years.
Scholastic Apologizes for Suggesting Maggie Tokuda-Hall Cut “Racism” from Her Book
Recently, Scholastic reached out to author Maggie Tokuda-Hall to license her 2022 children’s book Love in the Library. But the request came with one major caveat—Scholastic asked Tokuda-Hall to revise her author’s note calling out “the deeply American tradition of racism.” According to the author, Scholastic went further to suggest she remove the word “racism” from the author’s note entirely. Tokuda-Hall said no, calling Scholastic’s request a “horrific demand for censorship.”
Two days later, Scholastic issued an apology. “In our initial outreach we suggested edits to Ms. Tokuda-Hall’s author’s note,” the company’s CEO Peter Warwick said in a statement. “This approach was wrong and not in keeping with Scholastic’s values. We don’t want to diminish or in any way minimize the racism that tragically persists against Asian-Americans… We must never do this again.” Scholastic says it hopes to share Tokuda-Hall’s book with the author’s note unchanged. It’s unclear whether Tokuda-Hall will consider Scholastic’s revised offer.
Mona Awad’s Rouge to be Adapted for Film by Freemantle and Sinestra
Bestselling author Mona Awad’s upcoming novel Rouge will be adapted for film by Freemantle and Sinestra, the production banner launched by Chernobyl director Johan Renck and producer Michael Parets. Set in California, Mona Awad’s Rouge explores the cult-like nature of the beauty industry in a story that’s described as “Snow White meets Eyes Wide Shut.” Rouge will be published in September this year by Simon & Schuster.
Celebrate Our National Parks with These Books!
It’s almost National Park Week! Here are eight suggestions for books to read to celebrate the national parks, for kids and adults.