Pan Macmillan issued a brief statement about their recalled Andrew Marr book, saying that “through its solicitors [it] has apologized to Erin Pizzey for the situation that has arisen, has withdrawn the book from circulation and will be removing the passage complained of. As this is an ongoing legal matter, Pan Macmillan will not be able to comment any further.” Attorney Edward Yell, who represents Pizzey, acknowledged the legal objection concerned an assertion in the book that Pizzey (a women’s rights activist) was linked to a militant bombing group in the 1970s called the Angry Brigade. “Yell said he sent […]
Archives for March 2009
People: Merkh Takes Over at Howard, and More
Jonathan Merkh joins Howard Books as publisher today, reporting to Mark Gompertz. Merkh spent a brief stint at the William Morris Agency after serving as an executive at Guideposts and publisher of the Nelson Books division at Thomas Nelson. Merkh will oversee all editorial and marketing and the senior management team, including John Howard (who had held the publisher title), will report to him. At Simon & Schuster Children’s, Alexandra Cooper has been promoted to senior editor. Sarah Weinman discovers that bestselling author of DOG ON IT “Spencer Quinn” is actually Cape Cod novelist Peter Abrahams. Publishing contract specialist and […]
Lunch Weekly for Monday, March 9
Deal Reports Just e-mail to deals@PublishersMarketplace if you aren’t using the online form linked below. Report a deal using the online form The Key As usual, the handy key to our Lunch deal categories. While all reports are always welcome, those that include a category will generally receive a higher listing when it comes time to put them all together. “nice deal” $1 – $49,000 “very nice deal” $50,000 – $99,000 “good deal” $100,000 – $250,000 “significant deal” $251,000 – $499,000 “major deal” $500,000 and up FICTION Debut Robin Oliveira’s MY NAME IS MARY SUTTER, set in the mid-19th […]
At Quarto, MBI Lifts Sales, But Recession Hurts Profits
Full-year sales at The Quarto Group rose 13 percent to 112.7 million pounds, but only because of the full-year integration of their MBI acquisition and the late-year rally in the dollar. Adjusted operating profit rose 23 percent to 6.4 million pounds, but actual operating profit plunged over 45 percent to 5.25 million pounds. As part of the report, the board said it “is discussing whether to change the group’s reporting currency from sterling to the US dollar” which “would give a more nuanced view of performance.” Chairman Laurence Orbach tells shareholders that “November was horrible…. Books commissioned in earlier years […]
Next Niffenegger Novel Draws Wide Interest
While auctions of commercial properties have been the focus of press attention in recent days, the market for the right literary fiction is also showing strength as editors and imprints across town have been engaged in the multi-day auction for the new novel by Audrey Niffenegger. Already announced for October 1 publication in the UK where Jonathan Cape had rights from an earlier deal, HER FEARFUL SYMMETRY is described at Amazon UK as “a delicious and deadly twenty-first-century ghost story about Niffenegger’s familiar themes of love, loss and identity,” promising “echoes of Henry James and Charles Dickens.” Niffenegger’s bestselling debut […]
More Borders Cuts: 742 Store Managers and Supervisors Nationwide
Borders is cutting “less than 3 percent” of their in-store workforce across the country, eliminating 679 jobs at their superstores, mostly by “reducing the number of manager and supervisor positions.” They note that “no changes were made at the general manager level–the top position in each store–but in the majority of Borders locations, one or two other leadership positions, such as sales managers, inventory managers, training supervisors and merchandise supervisors, were eliminated as the company resets its superstore management structure to correspond to sales volume on a store-by-store basis.” Similar changes to manager and supervision positions at Waldenbooks are eliminating […]