Mystery book editor for Thomas Dunne Books Ruth Cavin, 92, died yesterday morning. She is remembered by longtime family friend Mike Shatzkin on his blog, who notes “what is unique about Ruth’s career is that she didn’t become an editor until she was past her 60th birthday and didn’t start her more than two decades at St. Martin’s until she was 70.” Also remarkable is Macmillan’s efforts to help Cavin keep coming to the office.
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Orson Scott Card‘s website reports that he suffered a “mild stroke” on New Year’s “He is now back home, retraining his brain so that the fingers of his left hand strike the keys he’s aiming for…. He is grateful for your good wishes and he promises not to die with any series unfinished.”
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In new hires, we’re excited to self-report, today. Emily Williams joins PublishersMarketplace.com and Publishers Lunch today as digital content producer, and Sarah Weinman joins us as news editor.
Emily is co-chair of the BISG Rights Committee and has been working as an independent publishing consultant and contributor to Digital Book World and Publishing Perspectives. Previously she was a senior scout at Maria B. Campbell Associates.
Sarah was a reporter for DailyFinance, covering the publishing industry (where she will remain as an occasional contributor.) As a freelance journalist, her work has also appeared in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, The Daily Beast, Maclean’s, and the National Post. She is also hoping this new position will cut down on the time spent on social media (at http://twitter.com/sarahw and http://offonatangent.tumblr.com)
In the UK, at Cornerstone, Kate Burke has been hired as editorial director of Century. She has been senior commissioning editor at Harper Fiction.
Finalists for The Story Prize, to be awarded March 2, are:
Memory Wall, by Anthony Doerr (Scribner)
Gold Boy, Emerald Girl by Yiyun Li (Random House)
Death Is Not an Option, by Suzanne Rivecca (Norton)
Robert Caro was named the the recipient of the 2011 BIO Award, given by members of Biographers International Organization to a colleague who has made a major contribution to the advancement of the art and craft of real life depiction.
The book MOUNTAIN HIGHTS AND VALLEY LOWS coming from Rev. Al Sharpton and author Karen Hunter that we noted in our Automat last week is being published by Hunter’s own start-up First One Publishing. The company is owned by Hunter’s business advisory firm mgmt one, and is focused on digital publishing. In keeping with their name, they launch tomorrow, on 1/11/11, at http://www.firstonepublishing.com/