Archives for October 2004

Another Plot to Change America Penguin’s Riverhead imprint has acquired a book that tantalizingly hints at what it calls a thwarted “plot to disrupt the presidential election.” But like the missing explosives in Iraq, the full details of this story may well not emerge until long after the election is history, with publication not scheduled until fall of next year. Author Larry J. Kolb promises to reveal the full details of a sensational case in which he says one American citizen has already been arrested, with the other still being sought by law enforcement authorities. The men, both described as […]

Tillinghast to Retire Again from AMS Charles Tillinghast will step down from his interim return as CEO of Advanced Marketing Services, making way for the ascension of Bruce C. Myers to the top post on November 12. Myers joined the company’s staff in April as evp and CFO, at the same time as Tillinghast returned to management following the firing of Mike Nicita. Tillinghast will remain as a consultant for two years but will give up his seat on the company’s board of directors. Company release More Personnel News Talia Ross has joined Holtzbrinck as library marketing manager, running a […]

Online Territorial Expansion for Amazon and Abe Amazon UK will run an online bookstore for Borders’ fast-growing UK operation-just as the two companies work together in the US. It’s the first deal like this for Amazon UK since their 2001 partnership with Waterstone’s. Reuters item Abebooks.com has acquired Iberlibro.com, which they call “the most important online platform for used and antiquarian books in the global Spanish-speaking community.” Iberlibro is a network of almost 300 booksellers from 15 countries. Founder Adolfo Pisa says in a statement, “Iberlibro has an intimate knowledge of the Spanish used and antiquarian book market, and Abebooks […]

Today’s Meal On and Off Again The NYT raised a few eyebrows last week after unusual dispatch of two different versions of its weekly e-mail providing advance release of the bestseller lists dated October 31. The first version incorrectly listed DON’T THINK OF AN ELEPHANT, credited to Howard Dean and Don Hazen with Ballantine listed as the publisher, at No. 30 on the extended paperback nonfiction list. (Dean wrote the foreword and Hazen contributed an introduction; the author is linguist George Lakoff, and the publisher is Chelsea Green.) At least a few eyebrows remained raised when a second, corrected version […]

A Quiet Fall Variety’s take on the NBA nominations and the fall fiction season: “They’re a crutch for publishers in a shaky marketplace, and this year they could certainly use the boost.” Random House’s Stuart Applebaum calls October “desultory month for book retailers.” He also offers this: “Most major trade book publishers are despairing of the relative obscurity of the finalists,” says Applebaum. “But many of us respect the National Book Foundation and their judges for sticking to their principles. “They want to endorse as finalists those books that they believe in, irrespective of whether it will deny them corporate […]

Kerry Wins! And PublicAffairs has the scoop, in a book set to release in January. Though the provisional title loaded into Amazon and BN.com calls the book ELECTION 2004: How Bush/Kerry Won and What You Can Expect in the Future,” the descriptive copy provides the real news: “An extraordinary behind-the-scenes look at the 2004 Kerry presidential victory reported by Newsweek’s premier political reporters, including bestselling biographer Evan Thomas.… Thomas will write an essay on the new administration, its key players and its prospects, the tone and direction it is expected to set. The book that emerges will be a first […]