The Royalty That Never Came

A friend once asked how to choose the right publisher. She had options — several, in fact. But she felt uncertain, unsure what separated a solid publishing partner from a mirage built on promises and paperwork. That question came rushing back while reading about the recent bankruptcies of Unbound and Albert Whitman & Company — two cautionary tales for anyone who’s ever dreamed of seeing their name on the spine of a book.

The stories of these two companies couldn’t be more relevant — or more unsettling.

Unbound began in 2011 as a UK-based publishing experiment. They called it the “Kickstarter for books,” and for a time, that bold idea seemed to work. Authors pitched books, readers pledged support, and Unbound crowdfunded hundreds of titles over the next decade. But by 2024, the cracks began to show. Royalties went unpaid. Books disappeared from shelves. Authors’ emails sat unanswered. And in December, the company admitted the truth: it couldn’t pay what it owed.

Three months later, Unbound entered administration and was sold — through a pre-pack deal — to a company called Boundless Publishing. Boundless, helmed by Unbound’s former CEO and co-founder, was essentially Unbound by another name. They promised to continue with “most” of the existing book projects and pay back what was owed. But “most” doesn’t mean all, and “pay back” now came with…