It's an almost-Christmas miracle: Amazon and Hachette have kissed and made up, ending a bitter publishing dispute.
According to a joint press release, the companies have signed a new, multi-year agreement for e-book and print sales in the U.S.
The e-book terms will take effect early next year. The companies said Hachette will set consumer prices of its e-books and get "better terms when it delivers lower prices for readers."
Otherwise, it will be business as usual for Amazon and Hachette going forward, with Hachette books featured "prominently" in promotions.
"This is great news for writers," Hachette CEO Michael Pietsch said in a statement. "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."
"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," Kindle vice president David Naggar said.
The battle began in May, when Amazon and Hachette were negotiating the price of e-books: Retailers typically take 30 percent, on top of which Amazon grabs a "co-op promotional fee."
But when talks reached an impasse, Amazon fought back by refusing pre-orders of Hachette titles and delaying shipments of long-released books by authors like J.K. Rowling (or rather, Robert Galbraith), Tina Fey, and Michael Connelly.
Amazon declined to comment further, while Hachette did not immediately respond to PCMag's request for comment.
As The New York Times pointed out, this agreement follows a deal between Amazon and Simon & Schuster.
n 2010, Amazon also had a similar dispute with Macmillan, pulling all of its books from the retail site. The two eventually reached an undisclosed agreement.
For more, check out Amazon vs. Hachette: What's Going On?
