Hachette and Amazon reach e-book deal after 6-month dispute

Hachette and Amazon have reached a deal over e-books and print sales, the two companies announced Thursday. They have been locked in an unusually public dispute over pricing since May.

While the new e-book terms will not take effect until early 2015, the settlement was reached in time for Hachette books to return to Amazon’s digital shelves in time for the Christmas shopping season.

“Amazon and Hachette will immediately resume normal trading, and Hachette books will be prominently featured in promotions,” they said in a joint statement.

Representatives from both sides weighed in. Amazon’s vice president for Kindle, David Naggar, 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.”

Hachette Book Group CEO 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.”

Exact terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

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