Hachette Book Group reaches agreement with Amazon

Hachette Book Group (HBG) in the US and Amazon have reached a new multi-year agreement, after months of negotiations and a very public battle.

The agreement will give HBG responsibility for setting consumer prices of its e-books, and the publisher will “benefit from better terms when it delivers lower prices for readers”.

The agreement means Amazon and HBG will now resume normal trading, with Hachette books being “prominently featured in promotions”.

The new multi-year agreement covers e-book and print sales in the US, with terms taking effect in early 2015.

In a statement jointly released with Amazon, HBG c.e.o. Michael Pietsch said: "This is great news for writers. The new agreement will benefit Hachette authors for years to come. It gives Hachette enormous marketing capability with one of our most important bookselling partners.”

David Naggar, v.p., Kindle, said: "We are pleased with this new agreement as it includes specific financial incentives for Hachette to deliver lower prices, which we believe will be a great win for readers and authors alike.”