• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Login
  • Register

Publishers Lunch

The Publishing Industry's Daily Essential Read

  • Publishers Marketplace
  • Site Guide
  • Help

People, Awards, Etc.

May 30, 2012
By Michael Cader

US author Madeline Miller won the Orange Prize for her debut novel THE SONG OF ACHILLES, published by Ecco in the US and Bloomsbury UK. Chair of judges Joanna Trollope said: “This is a more than worthy winner — original, passionate, inventive and uplifting. Homer would be proud of her.”

Executive director of PEN American Center since 2009 Steven L. Isenberg told the board that he will leave the position at the end of the year, providing notice now “to give ample time for the search for my successor and to ensure a smooth, effective transition. Isenberg will be 72 when steps down.

Scott Waxman and Waxman Literary Agency agent for the past seven years Byrd Leavell have formed a new entity, The Waxman Leavell Literary Agency.  Waxman says in the announcement, “Byrd is a talented agent with a tremendous instinct for finding and developing enormous bestsellers. He is also a lot of fun to work with. I couldn’t be more excited to take the agency to the next level with Byrd as a partner.” But he declined to indicate what becomes of Waxman Literary Agency and its assets. Leavell says that going forward both of their efforts will be on behalf of the new agency only and “The Waxman Agency name will be phased out over the course of the summer.”

About 11 months after first filing for bankruptcy protection, Nebraska Book Company says the court has confirmed their third amended reorganization plan and the company expects to come out of Chapter 11 by mid-June.

In the UK, Headline is adding a new fiction imprint, Tinder Press, focused on “books that inspire a passionate response and will stand the test of time.” It will be run by fiction publisher Mary-Anne Harrington and associate publisher Leah Woodburn, aiming to issue 10 to 12 titles a year starting in spring 2013.

Former president and ceo of Little, Brown Charlie Hayward was fired from his position as president and ceo of the New York Racing Association, following allegations that the NYRA knowingly overcharged horse racing bettors on certain exotic wagers until the error was noticed by state auditors.

Scholastic announced the passing of two-time Caldecott winner (along with his wife) Leo Dillon, 79, on Saturday, May 26, from “complications of a sudden illness requiring lung surgery.” He was the first African-American to win the Caldecott, receiving the 1975 medal for Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears. The NYT adds an obituary Thursday. Scholastic also noted in a separate release the death of author, teacher, “mentor and fierce fighter for social justice” Ellen Levine, 73, also on May 26, after a long battle with lung cancer. Her works included the Caldecott Honor book Henry’s Freedom Box.

A World Book Night e-mail survey found that 97 percent of respondents said they would happily serve as “book-givers” again next year, and a Cision media survey found local print stories totaling more than 7.1 million readers (separate from national media coverage) and local TV with a combined 1.2 million viewers.

Filed Under: Agency News, Free, New Imprints, Personnel

sidebar

Primary Free Sidebar

Login


Forgot password
Quick Pass users click here to log in
Get Full Access
The publishing industry's essential daily read

Each Publishers Lunch Deluxe subscription includes full access to our searchable multi-year archive of industry news, a nightly email reporting 10 to 50 deal transactions, and our database of industry contacts, scripts, and posting privileges.

Learn More

RSS Automat

  • Taylor & Francis to Make Voluntary Separation Offer; Threatens Layoffs to Follow September 25, 2023 Bookseller
  • Rupert Murdoch to Retire from News Corp and Fox Boards September 21, 2023 NYT
  • OpenAI's New DALL-E3 Lets Artists Opt-Out of Future Training; Rejects Request to Mimic the Style of Living Artists September 20, 2023 TechCrunch
  • Another Response to AI-Generated Books: KDP Lowers Limit On Number of Titles You Can Create, "To Help Protect Against Abuse" September 18, 2023 KDP Forum
  • TikTok (and Instagram) Stars Sell Cookbooks September 18, 2023 NYT
  • Actor and UK Harry Potter Audiobook Narrator Stephen Fry Demonstrates How His Voice Was Copied By AI Without Permission September 18, 2023 Deadline
  • Neal Sofman, Legend of Bay Area Independent Booksellers, dies at 75 September 15, 2023 SF Chronicle
  • Major Textbook Publishers Trying Suing Shadow Library LibGen Again September 15, 2023 Torrent Freak
  • Deesha Philyaw Has Seven-Figure Deal with Mariner for "The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman" in 2025 and "Girl, Look" September 14, 2023 AP
  • Copyright Office Doubles Down on Declining to Register Award-Winning Midjourney-Created AI Art September 12, 2023 Copyright Review Board document
© 2023 Publishers Lunch. All Rights Reserved.