Nancy Sheppard will join Basic Books on August 13 as marketing director. Most recently, she was marketing director at St. Martin’s.
Loyola Press executive editor, trade Joe Durepos will retire at the end of October after nearly 17 years with the publisher. He said, “I’ve had the best job in the world, working with an incredibly talented team and the finest writers. Now it’s time to make room for others to bring the Press to ever greater heights in the years to come.” Loyola Press president and publisher Joellyn Cicciarelli said, “With Joe’s acquisition guidance, Loyola Press has consistently published some of the most notable Catholic authors and books of our time—works that will endure…. Joe’s acquisitions have helped to position Loyola Press as one of the top Catholic publishers in the country, and we are forever grateful for his contributions.”
Forthcoming
Washington Post national security reporter Greg Miller‘s The APPRENTICE: Trump, Russia and the Subversion of American, will be published October 2 by Custom House (and William Collins in the UK). The book promises “striking new details” on “Russian interference in the 2016 election, and the political, legal and diplomatic crises it spawned.” Miller was among the Post reporters awarded a 2018 Pulitzer Prize and the book on work from the paper’s extraordinary investigative team. Geoff Shandler acquired North American rights from Rafe Sagalyn at ICM.
In a different vein, Penguin Children’s will adopt the European Flickbacks — horizontal mini-books that started in Holland (where they are called Dwarsliggers, meaning to lie crossways) — for a line of Penguin Minis debuting October 23 with four John Green titles, with more books to follow in 2019.
Dutton Children’s president Julie Strauss-Gabel saw a Dutch copy of one of Green’s novels in the Dwarsligger format and, “The minute I picked it up, I thought, ‘How do we not have these in this country?’ ” Dutch printer Royal Jongbloed launched the format in 2009 and is said to have helped issue over 1,000 titles in Europe. Green says, “I haven’t seen a new book format that I thought was at all interesting, but I find this format really usable and super-portable.” He notes, “in some ways, these books are more similar to a phone-shaped experience.”
Bookselling
London-based socialist bookstore Bookmarks said on the Facebook the store was attacked on Saturday night: “Twelve men invaded the shop … destroying displays, wrecking books and chanting Alt-right slogans. One was wearing a Donald Trump mask. “They attempted to intimidate staff and customers and to destroy books and materials. Fortunately, no one was hurt. We will not let this happen! Never Again!”
The Bookseller reports the store will hold a “solidarity event” with authors on August 11. Bookseller Noel Halifax told them, “Since the attack, it’s been very busy here because we have been completely inundated with messages of support, it’s been hard to cope with the volume.” Manager Dave Gilchrist added, “This horrific attack on a radical bookshop should send shivers down the spine of anyone who knows their history. The Nazis targeted books because they knew how important radical ideas are for challenging racism and fascism. The same is true today, and that is why we have to show that we won’t be intimidated.”