Literary critic, writer, and political activist Liu Xiaobo, who is serving an 11-year sentence in a Chinese prison, has won the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize “for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee said. The Chinese government condemned the award, and state media immediately blacked out the news and Chinese government censors blocked Nobel prize reports from Internet websites. “We hope the Chinese authorities receive this wise decision by the Nobel Committee as the rest of the world will receive it–as recognition of the power of its citizens to guide and shape […]
Archives for October 2010
1.5 Million Copy First Printing for Bush Memoir
Crown has set a 1.5 million-copy first printing for George W. Bush’s memoir Decision Points, due out on November 9. There will also be an enhanced e-book edition featuring video highlights of Bush’s presidency, photographs not included in the hardcover book and personal correspondence.AP
The November 2010 Indie Next List
#1 Pick: Moonlight Mile by Dennis Lehane Mr. Toppit: A Novel by Charles Elton The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee The Wolves of Andover: A Novel by Kathleen Kent Mary Ann in Autumn: A Tales of the City Novel by Armistead Maupin After the Falls: Coming of Age in the Sixties by Catherine Gildiner Driving on the Rim: A Novel by Thomas McGuane Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff Exley: A Novel by Brock Clarke Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow Sunset Park: A Novel by Paul Auster Lipstick in Afghanistan by Roberta Gately […]
People, Etc.
Y.S. Chi has been appointed president of the International Publishers Association, effective January 1. He is Vice Chairman and CEO of Elsevier Science & Technology, and is also a member of the AAP Board of Directors. Michelle Paver has won the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize for Ghost Hunter, the sixth and final novel in her Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series.Guardian A memorial for Les Pockell will be held on Tuesday, October 12 at 5 PM at The Proshansky Auditorium at the CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue @ 35th Street. A reception will follow. Spanish language digital publisher Red Ediciones […]
Mario Vargas Llosa Wins Nobel for Literature
The winner of this year’s prize is Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa, “for his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual’s resistance, revolt, and defeat.” He is published in the US by Farrar, Straus and Picador, which published his novel The Bad Girl in hardcover in 2006 and in paperback in 2008, and Harvard University Press, which released the essay collection Wellsprings in 2008. Picador Publisher Frances Coady said in a statement that as of this morning, all 10 of the author’s books they publish are being reprinted: “we already have in place major bookseller […]
Amazon Does Indeed Acquire BuyVIP
As predicted in reports earlier this week, Amazon announced a deal to acquire Spain-based BuyVIP.com, which claims over six million members in countries including Spain, Italy and Germany. Reported previously as selling for $96.5 million (though not confirmed, among BuyVIP.com’s owners is Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments. In the mode of Gilt Groupe, BuyVIP sells well-known fashion and lifestyle products through limited-time offers at deep discount. Amazon’s vp of European retail Greg Greeley says, “BuyVIP.com is an excellent complement to Amazon’s European business and will provide another unique way for Amazon customers to find and discover unique and compelling products.”Announcement