The Bookseller asks who enforces publisher promises
A comment piece raises the question of accountability when publishers fail to keep their commitments to authors
Here's the uncomfortable question nobody with power wants to answer: if a publisher breaks its word to you, who actually makes them fix it? This piece doesn't hand us numbers or a ruling, but it names the gap that authors live in every day. My take — the absence of an enforcement body isn't an oversight, it's convenient for the side that doesn't need one.
Why it matters to you: If no one formally holds publishers accountable, authors are left to police broken promises themselves, deal by deal.
This story ran in the Coral Wire edition of Fri, Oct 2 2026, when the Coral Index stood at 58/100 (Tailwinds building).
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- The Bookseller - Comment - Who holds publishers to their promises?thebookseller.com
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