MERLIN BOOKS

Publishing companies will be asked in the coming days to bid for the back catalogue of the now defunct Merlin Books, according to The Sunday Business Post. The company was wound up following a High Court judgment to award legal costs against it in a case taken by the state over information published in a crime book penned by the journalist, Paul Williams.

However, the company said the ruling had not been the crucial factor in the decision to cease trading, citing “a devastating collapse in book sales, at the same time that returns (from retailers) have skyrocketed.”