Scholastic’s international division has hired Anne Boynton-Trigg as vp, export, and the former holder of that position Edie Perkins takes the new job of vp, international product development, working “across corporate divisions and international groups to strengthen and grow the Scholastic brand globally.” Boynton-Trigg was most recently svp, general manager, with Pearson Longman English Language Teaching. Both report to president of Scholastic International Growth Markets Shane Armstrong.
The Guardian released their new Media Guardian 100 list, with only modest representation from book publishing. Penguin ceo John Makinson remains on the list, now at No. 88 (down from 76 last year), as his boss, Pearson ceo Marjorie Scardino moves up to No. 18 (from 25 a year ago). Jeff Bezos is a new entry on the list (odd, by itself), landing at No. 12.
Ann Patchett discusses her bookstore start-up in Nashville along with Karen Hayes with the AP: “I see this as a gift to the city,” Patchett says. “I see this as a charitable contribution … not as an investment, not as a smart business move, but really as somebody who loves Nashville and somebody who doesn’t want to live in a city without a bookstore.”
Patchett credits owner of Boswell Book Company in Milwaukee Daniel Goldin with helping shape her plans, including the notion of focusing on “social profit” over dollar profit. Goldin “talked about the importance of making sure his store is a cornerstone for the community. ‘I’m going to make a lot of decisions as if I’m sort of a nonprofit,’ Goldin said. ‘I’m going to be very careful about my dollars, but sometimes I’m still making these decisions about what’s best for the community, what’s best for my customers. … The secret is to say you’ve just got to get into the love. It’s all relationship and it’s all emotional reaction.'”
David Davidar reviews his career in publishing for the Hindustan Times and discusses his new start-up in India. The account of his Penguin days is brief (and promotes him retroactively):
“I became CEO of Penguin when I was 39 years old. I was increasingly doing things like running Penguin India, DK India, etc. For the last 12 years I have had very little to do with actual publishing. I missed that. I wanted to get back to making books. I love publishing. That’s why I decided to set up my own company Aleph, along with Rupa (they have the best distribution network in the country). I’m 52 years old now – another 15 years and I will have no stamina to do the things I want to.
“At Aleph, I want to do brilliant books and sell them to their potential. I want to keep it small and beautiful. If you grow too big, you start getting into problems. You can’t pay attention to your books.”