Dallas-based literary agent David Hale Smith has joined Inkwell Management as an agent, bringing along his list featuring crime, suspense and thriller writers as well as literary fiction and nonfiction that ranges from narrative history and business to health & wellness and cookbooks. InkWell partner Michael Carlisle says in the announcement, “Inkwell’s success has come from the collegial atmosphere among our colleagues and the quality of our clients. It is with special pleasure that we invited David Hale Smith to join our ranks. He represents some of the best young writers of our time with whom we will be working […]
Archives for April 2011
Bookselling: Fees for Members and Author Events, As Borders Investigates Rewards Database Exposure
Special Occasions in Winston-Salem, NC, “one of the largest black-owned bookstores between Washington and Atlanta,” will close in late May after 27 years in business. Owners Miriam and Ed McCarter attribute it to “the weak economy and competition from e-books and online booksellers.” News-Record The Boulder Book Store will charge fees of between five and ten dollars to attend most of their author events in the future–and will give attendees five dollars off the purchase price of the books featured at those events. marketing and promotions manager Stephanie Schindhelm says, “We want to encourage people to spend their money locally […]
eNews: e-Royalty Escalators; Sony Tablets On the Way; Product Placement; and More
Some UK agents claim to the Bookseller that they have negotiated e-royalty escalators and expect this move “will be the norm, not the exception” in the future, but it sounds more like an aspiration than a well-documented accomplishment. Blake Friedmann agent Oliver Munson is the only one saying on the record they’ve already done this: “We’ve certainly had e-book escalators in a number of contracts….. I can’t realistically envisage the much-trumpeted 25% net receipts remaining the benchmark for much longer either.” Piers Blofeld at Sheil Land also says “I have negotiated an escalator, but not with one of the big four. That would be […]
Penguin Introduces Book Country, A Community for Genre Fiction Writers
Today Penguin launched the public beta of Book Country, a new subsidiary company and website whose aim is to build a writing community and social network centered around genre fiction, especially romance, science fiction & fantasy, and mysteries & thrillers. Membership is free and allows writers to post unpublished manuscripts and receive detailed feedback–ranging from genre categorization to more focused comments on specific craft aspects–from community members, essentially acting as an ongoing online workshop. Starting this summer Book Country intends to generate revenue by having members to self-publish print and e-book editions of their work for a fee, and in […]
Deepak Chopra to Set Up Imprint at Crown’s Harmony Books
Deepak Chopra will work with his longtime publishers at the Crown Publishing Group to create a Deepak Chopra Books imprint housed within Harmony Books, launching in 2012. The goal is to publish “important, innovative non-fiction books by visionary authors who are committed to enhancing people’s lives”–so books from other people, initiated and recommended by him. Chopra says in the release “together we will build a vibrant new publishing home for thought leaders who are committed to transforming people’s lives and who are on the cutting edge in providing new perspectives and solutions to the challenges that all humans face.” Chopra […]
People: Wasserman Joins Yale UP
Steve Wasserman has joined Yale University Press as executive editor-at-large, General Interest books. “Steve’s fascinating and varied career has put him at the center of public intellectual life in America,” said Yale UP director John Donatich. “He will bring great things to Yale Press’s unique program in publishing serious and scholarly works to the trade.” The former LA Times books editor will remain with Kneerim & Williams as a literary agent, and will not represent any of the firm’s clients in any negotiations with Yale. Rhea Lyons has joined Franklin & Siegal Associates as literary scout. She was previously subrights […]