NEW YORK (AP) — Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. is buying Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s book-publishing division, with titles by J.R.R. Tolkien and the Curious George children’s series, for $349 million. News Corp. owns HarperCollins, one of the industry’s largest book publishers, and will operate the division. The publishing industry is consolidating, with German media giant Bertelsmann’s purchase of rival Simon & Schuster in November for $2.2 billion shrinking the so-called Big Five of American publishing — which also includes HarperCollins, Hachette Book Group and Macmillan — to four. Agents and authors are worried that a concentration of power in publishing would translate to less competition for book deals and smaller advances.
News Corp. buys Houghton Mifflin Harcourt books division
