Kelle Ruden will move over to agent director for the Random House Speakers Bureau, starting March 14. She will work across the Random House imprints to support the current roster of author speakers and expand the program.
Book critic and social-media consultant Bethanne Patrick is joining Shelf Awareness as editor of their forthcoming consumer publication.
Guy LeCharles Gonzalez has joined Media Source Inc. as Director, Content & Digital Product Development, overseeing Library Journal, School Library Journal, and The Horn Book, starting today. Previously he was Director, Programming & Business Development for Digital Book World.
Elaine McQuade has been appointed Head of Marketing and Publicity for the Trade and Children’s Business Unit at Oxford University Press.
Nancy Planitzer has joined Greater Talent Network as an account executive, where she develop new business opportunities for the companys publishing-based bureaus, specifically Hachette and Simon & Schuster. Previously she was an account coordinator with Macmillan Speakers Bureau.
Bestselling self-published ebook novelist Amanda Hocking wrote a refreshing post on “some things that need to be said” last week. The point is to explain that success as author–whether through traditional or nontraditional pathways–is the product of a lot of hard work (along with some luck):
“Everybody seems really excited about what I’m doing and how I’ve been so successful, and from what I’ve been able to understand, it’s because a lot of people think that they can replicate my success and what I’ve done. And while I do think I will not be the only one to do this – others will be as successful as I’ve been, some even more so – I don’t think it will happen that often.
“Traditional publishing and indie publishing aren’t all that different, and I don’t think people realize that. Some books and authors are best sellers, but most aren’t. It may be easier to self-publish than it is to traditionally publish, but in all honesty, it’s harder to be a best seller self-publishing than it is with a house.”
Australian biographer Hazel Rowley, 59, died at a New York hospital after suffering a series of strokes and heart attacks last week. Her most recent book, Franklin and Eleanor: An Extraordinary Marriage, was published in November by FSG.
Sainsbury’s has started its own line of children’s books in conjunction with Dorling Kindersley. The eight titles, geared towards children aged up to five years old, are priced between £3 and £9.99 and went on sale this past Saturday.
Simon & Schuster has launched a new digital channel, “Ask the Author”, in conjunction with VYou.com, where authors “engage in conversation with their fans through videos posted in response to written questions.”
WSJ
Pearson will buy Education Development International for £112.7m (or 200p per share) on a recommended cash offer.
Stockmarketwire