Houghton Mifflin to stop publishing new books

Publishing powerhouse Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has announced that it will not be acquiring new books until further notice. Houghton's textbook arm will not be affected by the move, but the 400 title per year trade and reference arm will be.

The publisher still has some new titles in the pipeline, so it's unclear how output will be affected in the short-term, and the company has declined to say how long the freeze will last. But if it goes for awhile, Philip Roth and Richard Dawkins could be on the lookout for new publishers. But The Wall Street Journal adds (subscription required) that "To be sure, 'freeze' is a murky term in business. If the next "War and Peace" appears at Houghton's doorstep, editors may persuade their superiors to buy it."

The company's strategy here appears to be to batten down the hatches and conserve cash while continuing to milk its classic franchises like The Lord of the Rings.

It's interesting to note that the company isn't cutting back on its textbooks. As I've written on WalletPOP, textbooks are outrageously overpriced and are updated far more frequently than they need to be in order to render used copies obsolete and force students to buy new books.