From Publishers Weekly:
Three years after Albert Whitman & Company came under fire from authors and illustrators over delayed royalty payments, numerous agents are saying that the 105-year-old Chicagoland children’s publisher has once again fallen behind on its obligations.
PW spoke with more than a dozen authors and agents over the past month who all shared similar complaints and concerns after agreeing to speak on condition of anonymity. One agent said that the publisher managed to get current after its troubles in 2020–2021, but has since slipped. Another agent offered a more blunt assessment: AW&C is “up to their old games” and “not behaving like a reputable publisher.”
“Frankly, their schedule of paying five months after sending the royalty statement is frustrating,” one agent said, while another added that the company owes payments on multiple illustrator contracts as well as royalty payments for other clients. “They have always been slow to pay, but they have become unresponsive, and that is quite concerning.”
In an interview, AW&C v-p and co-owner Patrick McPartland acknowledged the publisher’s recent difficulties and told PW that executives have been reaching out to author and agent groups, including the Association of American Literary Agents, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and the Authors Guild. McPartland cited a tough 2023 in terms of sales and cash flow—a common theme among many indie presses. Those challenges were exacerbated, he said, by the death of business director Joseph Campbell in August 2022.
“We’re doing our best to get out in front of this and make sure that everyone is aware that we are aware,” McPartland said, adding that the company is also “slowing down acquisitions” to prioritize paying author advances and royalties.
Still, the latest round of troubles has shaken the confidence of some authors and agents. One author (whose agent succeeded in reverting the rights from AW&C to a series she’d created) reported that a royalty check dated November 15 did not arrive until the end of January. A second author, who spoke with PW about the publisher’s troubles back in 2020 and 2021, complained of a continuing lack of transparency: “I don’t know what they’re doing with the royalties, and I don’t see any way I can find out. With a publisher you have to have some sense of trust. I absolutely have no trust in Albert Whitman after struggling with them for over a decade.”
A third author, a former children’s book editor at various New York City houses who has published more than a dozen books with AW&C, concurred. “The editorial staff is lovely and I have done some very nice books with them, but the payment stuff is just a sin,” the author said. “Not only do they not pay but they offer zero explanation. Each time, one person will say, ‘I am going to check on that,’ or, ‘It’s waiting for an okay from the people in charge.’ No one wants to have to scream and shout to get their money. It’s not respectful.”
Link to the rest at Publishers Weekly
PG says that this sort of problem with a publisher is a massive headache for authors, who rightly feel trapped by their publishing contracts. No other traditional publisher is likely to be interested in purchasing a basket full of headaches represented by this small publisher.
PG has no inside information about the publisher, but bankruptcy is often the ending for companies that cannot pay their bills on time over a period of years.