Which Publishers Zealously Control Author Interview Rights?

I’ve run into this a lot over the years when booking interviews for my site: the major trade publishers treat interview rights like a PR commodity. In my experience the Big Five in the U.S. — Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan — often route requests through publicity departments and require embargoes, pre-approved questions, or coordinated release dates. That doesn’t always mean ‘no,’ but it does mean you’ll probably be talking to a publicist more than the author at first.
For genre work and manga, I’ve seen companies like Kodansha, Shueisha, and Shogakukan be similarly strict, partly because creators in Japan are often under company or editorial contracts and interviews are scheduled for promotional calendars. In comics and mainstream entertainment, Marvel and DC (and some film/game publishers) frequently gate interviews behind corporate PR, especially around big launches.
If you’re trying to score a convo, my practical tip is to be super clear about audience, timing, and questions up front, and to work with the author’s agent when possible. Smaller presses and indie houses are often way more relaxed — they’re where I’ve had the most candid chats. It’s a little gatekept, but with persistence you still get great conversations.

I tend to think of this like festival logistics: the biggest houses keep a tight schedule. From my dealings, the publishers that most aggressively control author interviews are the big corporate imprints — Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan — and major manga companies like Kodansha and Shueisha. Comics publishers (Marvel, DC) and entertainment-focused publishers also gate interviews when a property is tied to a film or game, because so many stakeholders are involved.
When I want a relaxed chat I approach smaller presses or independent authors directly, and when I’m dealing with the big players I always CC the publicist, outline the promotional benefit, and offer to adhere to embargoes. It’s annoying sometimes, but respecting their process usually opens doors. If you’re persistent and respectful, you’ll get interviews — they’re just scheduled on the publisher’s terms rather than yours.

When I was coordinating event panels, the friction around who gets to speak and when felt like a sport. Publishers that really clamp down on interview rights tend to be the big corporate houses — think Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Hachette, Simon & Schuster, and Macmillan. Their publicity teams are precise: embargoes, approved snippets, and coordinated Q&A windows. It means interviews are often scheduled to match sales pushes or review cycles.
On the comics/manga side, companies like Marvel, DC, Kodansha, and Shueisha work the same playbook when there’s a big launch. Sometimes it’s about protecting marketing strategy, other times it’s legal: rights tied up with adaptations, translations, or film deals. I learned to respect those boundaries by sending concise, professional requests and offering flexible schedules. If you can show you’ll boost the campaign — reach, demographics, or a unique angle—you’ll get farther than just asking for a casual chat.

I’ve seen a pattern: the largest publishers are the most controlling because they manage global marketing plans. In the U.S. that’s the Big Five — Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, Macmillan — plus big kids' players like Scholastic. In Japan, Kodansha, Shueisha, and Shogakukan often coordinate interviews tightly to protect release timetables. Comic giants such as Marvel and DC also centralize PR, especially around adaptations. Practical move: contact the publicity department or the author’s agent, offer questions in advance, and be ready for embargoes — it’s not personal, just logistics. I’ve negotiated book tour interviews and the one consistent thing I’ve learned is to read contracts carefully. Publishers typically have clauses giving them control over publicity, so the ones that ‘zealously’ guard interview rights are usually the ones with big marketing machines: Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Hachette, Simon & Schuster, and Macmillan. Beyond that, multimedia deals (film, TV, games) often add extra layers of approval: a studio or distributor might require pre-screened interviews or embargoes.
As someone who’s had to ask for permissions, I advise flagging exclusivity requests early and offering to follow their media guidelines — sometimes that openness turns a strict ‘no’ into a scheduled Q&A. Indie presses and self-published authors tend to be the most flexible, so if you want raw, candid conversation, go small and you’ll often get gold.