Dear Colleagues,

I am writing today because, as you may have heard, Paramount has terminated its agreement to sell Simon & Schuster to Penguin Random House, and there will be no appeal of Judge Florence Pan’s decision to block the merger of the two companies.

This news is still fresh, and at this point I have no specific information to impart about what will happen in the coming months. You may read or hear rumors and speculation about our future, but you can be assured that I will keep you informed as soon as there is pertinent news I can share.

I am grateful for your patience and dedication to our mission during all that has transpired over these many months since the sale began. Ultimately, what matters the most is the work we do together, on behalf of our authors and our books. Over the past three years, we have reached new heights of accomplishment. Simon & Schuster has never been more profitable and valuable than it is today. And that is because of the effort, ingenuity, and perseverance that you bring to our endeavors.

As we put the finishing touches on one of the single greatest years in our history and head into 2023, I see numerous reasons to be optimistic about our future. We’ll be starting the new year with some tremendously exciting, sure-to-be-bestselling titles, which will be buttressed by the sales of what is currently the best-selling backlist in the publishing industry. As I have noted before, we will be celebrating our 100th anniversary in April of 2024, regardless of who our owner is – and we will have much to celebrate.

Sincerely,

Jonathan