Melville House has reframed their “disagreement” with the Best Translated Awards over their acceptance of sponsorship from Amazon to focus on “two essential reasons.” Now they say it’s an objection to conglomerate influence in general rather than Amazon in particular (though they originally called Amazon’s interests “antithetical” to “those of a healthy book culture” and compared taking their money to “medical researchers who take money from cigarette companies”). They write: “The award so far has clearly celebrated something that has been marginalized by the conglomerates…. To that extent, at least, we would have protested any giant conglomerate co-opting this award, […]
Archives for November 2010
People, Distribution, Etc.: Riggio to Address AAP Meeting, and More
The AAP announced that Barnes & Noble chairman Len Riggio will deliver a speech at their annual meeting, which returns to New York, scheduled for March 9, 2011. In personnel news, Alexis Washam has joined Crown Trade Paperbacks as a senior editor, reporting to Tina Pohlman. She was an editor at Penguin. Washam will oversee paperback conversions for Broadway Paperbacks, Three Rivers Press, Crown Business, and Crown Forum, acquire select outside reprints, and acquire and edit trade paperback originals. At Knopf Children’s, Nancy Siscoe has been promoted to senior executive editor, relinquishing her associate publishing director responsibilities and focusing on […]
Lunch Weekly for Monday, November 1
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 I. J. Kay’s MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON, about a woman newly […]
Callaway Launches Digital Content Studio with Financing Led by Kleiner, Perkins
With the release of the iPad earlier this year Nicholas Callaway announced he was creating a studio to develop apps and released an app based on his company’s Miss Spider character. That app captivated Apple ceo Steve Jobs enough that he connected venture capitalist John Doerr at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers with Callaway, who today officially announces $6 million in Series A financing led by Kleiner’s iFund. It’s the only second investment from this fund focused on the iOS platform. Founding board member of Google and founder of Sherpalo Ventures Ram Shriram and founder of Farmville-creator Zynga Mark Pincus […]
People
Robert Kempe has been promoted to associate publisher at Seven Footer Press, sharing responsibility with publisher David Gomberg for the overall business and publishing operations. With the release this week of his new novel EDGE, Jeffrey Deaver speaks to USA Today about the James Bond book he’s working on for publication next May. “The novel is set in the present day, in 2011. Bond is a young agent for the British secret service. He’s 29 or 30 years old, and he’s an Afghan war vet…. I get him into a lot of trouble in the book.The poor guy. I almost […]