Anne McCaffrey, the science fiction and fantasy author best known for her “Dragonriders of Pern” novels, died Monday in Wicklow County, Ireland after suffering a stroke. She was 85. The author of nearly 100 novels (including 30 in collaboration with other authors, such as her son Todd) McCaffrey was the first woman to win the Hugo and Nebula awards, while her 1978 novel THE WHITE DRAGON was the first science fiction title by a woman to appear on the New York Times bestseller list.
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Greg Galloway has joined the American Booksellers Association as marketing manager and designer. He spend the past 16 years as the owner/operator of WebSight Marketing, which focused on Internet and print marketing for a variety of regional businesses. Paige Poe is leaving the ABA to start her own web development and design business.
Random House is offering booksellers an expedited-delivery program during the holiday season, running November 21 through January 12. Orders received by 3 in the afternoon will ship from the warehouse no later than the next business day, and ship in two days or less. Director, account marketing Ruth Liebmann says, “We hope our two-day shipping will result in bookstore staff spending less time on a backroom computer figuring out where and when to order stock, and instead more hours on the selling floor, assisting customers, recommending and handselling Random House books, and better enabling a profitable holiday season.”
In Australia, Bookseller+Publisher is reducing the number of print editions of the magazine to six issues per year in 2012, and publisher Tim Coronel will be leaving the company at the end of 2011. Parent company Thorpe-Bowker also announced that design and production manager Silvana Paolini‘s role will change to a contract position next year. Thorpe-Bowker general manager Gary Pengelly said in a statement: “This announcement reflects the changing world of publishing, and a determination to find a balance between continuing to deliver the publications which are so much part of all our professional lives, and the commercial realities of a changing market. Our ability to make these adjustments is a direct reflection of Tim’s passion for the publications and the team he has developed.”
The 12 German Catholic dioceses that own bookselling and publishing giant Weltbild will sell their interests following the highly-publicized discovery that their publishing list includes some erotica. Cologne Cardinal Joachim Meissner said, “We can’t make money all week long with something we condemn from the pulpit on Sunday.” The group has annual sales of 1.6 billion euros and employs approximately 6,400 people.