Wonpyeong Son, author of the bestseller "Almond," which was published in 2017 and has sold more than 100 million copies, is running out of stock in bookstores after terminating his publishing contract for his novel "Almond" at the end of this month.

Yesterday (8th), the publisher "Changbi" revealed through Yonhap News, "In January, the author conveyed his intention not to extend the contract of the novel 'Almond'."

The novel "Almond" is a bestseller that has sold more than 1 million copies in Korea and has become a bestseller since its publication in 100.

This popularity has continued since its publication, and it has been selected as the 2017 Kyobo Bungo Korean Novel of the Year and the 2017 Yeongpung Bungo Book of the Year, and has been translated into more than 2021 countries, including the United States, France, Japan, China, Spain, and Thailand, and won the 20 Japan Bookseller Award for Translated Fiction.

Nevertheless, some interpret the reason why the publishing contract was not maintained was influenced by the fact that in December 2020, a play based on "Almond" was prepared for its fourth performance without prior consultation with the original author, Son Won-pyeong.

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At the time, Changbi posted an apology on social media, saying, "I belatedly informed the author, who is the copyright holder, of the theatrical production, so that performances that were not authorized by the original author could be prepared without a contract."

With the end of the publishing contract, the novel "Almond" has not been hit hard since mid-January, and online bookstore sales are suspended or out of stock now.

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An official from Kyobo Bookstore revealed, "Around January, we received an email from the publisher saying that we could not supply it after that the contract was not extended, and we are announcing that the stock is out of print and out of stock."

Last year, Lee Min-jin, the author of the novel "Pachinko," failed to extend his contract with the existing publisher who had been signing a copyright contract, and some Internet bookstores experienced a shortage of goods, such as the combined set of the first and second volumes of "Pachinko" exceeding 1,1 won.

Later, Lee Min-jin reportedly met with a new publisher and signed a contract for the rights to "Pachinko" on the unconventional condition of "a four-year contract period, reporting sales at three-month intervals, and paying 2% of the royalty tax, including a minimum of $10,4 (approximately KRW 3.20 million)."

While attention is focused on whether the rights to the bestseller "Almond" can be republished under a contract with a new publisher, a Changbi official said, "When the author announced his intention to terminate the contract, he said that he would keep it out of print for the time being rather than discussing it with any publisher, but we do not know what has been done since."

(Photo = Yonhap News, Changbi, Changbi Instagram, YES2 capture)