Judge Denny Chin of the New York District Court has set February 18 as the hearing date on the revised Google Book Search Settlement. He also set January 28 as the deadline to file objections to the settlement. The U.S. Justice Department has until February 4 to weigh in.

Judge Chin has also given preliminary approval to the agreement. This is not necessarily an indication that it will receive an official authorization, however. Preliminary approval was also granted to the original version of the settlement prior to months of mandated revision.

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Harlequin Enterprises, a leading publisher of romance titles, is the target of quite a bit of backlash after the recent announcement of its new division. Harlequin Horizons, a self-publishing partnership with Author Solutions, has raised the ire of authors, agents, book bloggers, and industry associations.

According to Writer Beware, authors’ concerns include:

[…] dilution of the house brand (if low-quality self-published books carry the Harlequin name, the overall reputation of Harlequin may suffer), a loss of prestige for non-self-published Harlequin authors (the perception that “anyone” can get published by Harlequin), new authors spending money on self-publishing in the belief that it’s a path to getting noticed by Harlequin (well, of course; this is one of the new service’s major marketing pitches–no surprise, since Harlequin Horizons is a money-making enterprise), and the choice of Author Solutions as a partner […]

Malle Vallik, Digital Director for Harlequin, responded to similar concerns raised by the Dear Author blog:

“There are a number of reasons to select self-publishing including as a way to see their work in print – to give copies as gifts, to have a bound copy to help in finding an agent, or simply as a keepsake. Harlequin is providing a service to those choosing to self-publish with a leading organization in this field, Author Solutions.”

Industry groups the Romance Writers Association (RWA), the Science Fiction Writers Association, and the Mystery Writers Association have all publicly denounced the imprint, even going so far as to deny membership and award submission for any Harlequin titles.

Donna Hayes, CEO of Harlequin, responded to the negative feedback of its authors and the RWA:

“It is disappointing that the RWA has not recognized that publishing models have and will continue to change. As a leading publisher of women’s fiction in a rapidly changing environment, Harlequin’s intention is to provide authors access to all publishing opportunities, traditional or otherwise.”

Hayes went on to say that the company will now change the name of Harlequin Horizons so that it “does not refer to Harlequin in any way”.