Word is that Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has temporarily suspended acquisition of new manuscripts. Josef Blumenfeld, the vice president of communications, calls it a “freeze-lite.” He also added that manuscript acquisition editors would have to show “concrete evidence” of “market interest.” See – “Book Publisher Suspends New Acquisitions,” by Motoko Rich, The New York Times, November 24, 2008.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/25/books/25publish.html?_r=1