• Business
  • deals

Amazon Buries the Hachette, Signs New Pact With Book Publisher

2 minute read

Amazon and Hachette Book Group have put hostilities aside, ending their long-running and very public contract dispute over e-book pricing by signing a new multiyear agreement.

The online retail giant and the book publisher, which have been at odds since May, announced Thursday that they have finally reached a compromise after months of contentious negotiations, the New York Times reported. The dispute saw Amazon delay shipments of Hachette titles and remove discounts previously offered on the publisher’s products. The companies did not release terms of the new deal, the newspaper said. The pact covers sales of e-books and print products.

The reported deal, which goes into effect early next year, will allow Hachette to set prices for its e-books. David Naggar, vice president for Amazon’s Kindle division, said in a statement that the agreement “includes specific financial incentives for Hachette to deliver lower prices.”

“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.”

See the Factories Where Amazon Can Move 426 Items a Second

Employees collect merchandise ordered by customers for shipment from the Amazon.com distribution center in Phoenix, Arizona, Nov. 26, 2012.
Employees collect merchandise ordered by customers for shipment from the Amazon.com distribution center in Phoenix, Arizona, Nov. 26, 2012. David Paul Morris—Bloomberg/Getty Images
A worker collects order items at the Fulfilment Centre for online retail giant Amazon in Peterborough, central England, on Nov. 28, 2013.
A worker collects order items at the Fulfilment Centre for online retail giant Amazon in Peterborough, central England, on Nov. 28, 2013.Andrew Yates—AFP/Getty Images
Merchandise sits on shelves before shipment at the Amazon.com Inc. distribution center in Phoenix, Arizona, Nov. 26, 2012.
Merchandise sits on shelves before shipment at the Amazon.com Inc. distribution center in Phoenix, Arizona, Nov. 26, 2012. David Paul Morris—Bloomberg/Getty Images
An employee packs merchandise for shipment at the Amazon.com Inc. fulfillment center in Phoenix, Arizona, Dec. 2, 2013.
An employee packs merchandise for shipment at the Amazon.com Inc. fulfillment center in Phoenix, Arizona, Dec. 2, 2013. David Paul Morris—Bloomberg/Getty Images
BRITAIN-US-RETAIL-COMPANY-AMAZON
A picture shows the Fulfilment Centre for online retail giant Amazon in Peterborough, central England, on November 28, 2013, ahead of Cyber Monday on December 2nd, expected to be one of the busiest online shopping days of the year.Andrew Yates—AFP/Getty Images
BRITAIN-US-RETAIL-COMPANY-AMAZON
An employee packs orders in the Fulfilment Centre for online retail giant Amazon in Peterborough, central England, on November 28, 2013, ahead of Cyber Monday on December 2nd, expected to be one of the busiest online shopping days of the year.Andrew Yates—AFP/Getty Images
Inside An Amazon.com Distribution Center On Cyber Monday
Employee Maria Miller loads boxes onto a conveyer belt for shipping at the Amazon.com Inc. distribution center in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. on Monday, Nov. 26, 2012. David Paul Morris—Bloomberg/Getty Images
Interior view of the hall of a logistics center of the online shopping company Amazon, taken on March 26, 2014 in Leipzig, eastern Germany.
Interior view of the hall of a logistics center of the online shopping company Amazon, taken on March 26, 2014 in Leipzig, eastern Germany. Peter Ending—AFP/Getty Images
Packages sit in regional delivery dividers ahead of distribution at the Amazon.co.uk Marston Gate 'Fulfillment Center,' the U.K. site of Amazon.com Inc. in Ridgmont, United Kingdom, Dec. 3, 2012.
Packages sit in regional delivery dividers ahead of distribution at the Amazon.co.uk Marston Gate 'Fulfillment Center,' the U.K. site of Amazon.com Inc. in Ridgmont, United Kingdom, Dec. 3, 2012. Simon Dawson—Bloomberg/Getty Images

Amazon earned itself something of a public relations black eye as a result of the strong-arm negotiating tactics, causing a backlash among authors, many of whom backed a boycott of the online retailer that was led by television host Stephen Colbert. Amazon was looking for a larger share of e-book revenues, but was met with resistance from Hachette.

Authors under contract with Hachette publicly complained about a drop in their book sales, causing them to worry about a loss of royalties. In July, Amazon tried to make peace with Hachette authors by offering them 100% of digital book sales for as long as talks with Hachette dragged out — a proposal that Hachette had already turned down in negotiations.

This article originally appeared on Fortune.com

More Must-Reads from TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com