Paul Bresnick of the Paul Bresnick Agency has a deal in principle to assume control of the Wendy Weil Agency on behalf of the late agent’s estate, he wrote to clients, “to ensure that Wendy’s clients will continue to be represented with the highest professional standards for which the agency has earned its sterling reputation.” Bresnick has started informing authors while the details are finalized “so that there will be no break in the service you’ve come to expect from the agency and your best interests will continue to be protected,” he wrote in a letter shown to us. He […]
Archives for January 2013
The Final Lists: Announcing The Best of the Best of 2012
We have aggregated and tabulated over 50 “Best Books of 2012” lists from retailers, newspapers, magazines, trades, individual critics, major awards and more to once again announce the consensus, absolute Best of the Best of 2012. The two top titles, Katherine Boo’s BEHIND THE BEAUTIFUL FOREVERS and Hilary Mantel’s BRING UP THE BODIES, will come as no surprise. Every time we’ve done this a relatively small group of titles feel like they are on “everyone’s” lists, though this year Boo and Mantel were indeed found on more lists than ever before. (Last year’s No. 1, Tea Obreht’s THE TIGER’S WIFE, would […]
Nook Sales Fall 12.6 Percent Over Holidays, As Core BN Store Sales Also Declined
Barnes & Noble followed up their pre-New Year’s sales warning with a fuller holiday sales report: Same-store sales at the BN superstores and BN.com fell 8.2 percent (and 10.9 percent overall), at $1.2 billion for the nine-week period. Much of the decline was due to weaker sales of Nook devices and accessories but even leaving that product line aside, “core” store sales still declined 3.1 percent compared to last year “due to lower bookstore traffic.” (A core decline had been forecast, however, in the low-to-mid single digits, and the company said those sales “exceeded expectations.”) In the last quarter BN management […]
People, Etc.
At the Columbia Publishing Course, longtime director Lindy Hess is taking a leave due to health issues, with assistant director Susan Caplan running the program during her absence. At Trident Media Group, Mark Gottlieb has been promoted to audio rights agent. Kate Rados has joined the Crown Publishing Group in the new role of director of community development, reporting to director of marketing Jill Flaxman. Previously she was group digital marketing director for F+W Media. Emily Davis has been promoted to assistant marketing manager, reporting to Rados. Justin Hargett joined Basic Books this week as a publicist. Most recently he was a publicist at […]
January Is Digital Book World Month
We’ve already had strong enrollment for the fourth annual Digital Book World Conference and the associated events, and now that the new year is here it’s really just about two weeks away–convening January 16 and 17, at new space in the New York Hilton. As with all of the book trade’s major events, there is always a big wave of sign-ups as the date gets close. This year there are lots of good reasons to put DBW IV on your calendar if you haven’t already. The opening morning keynote sessions alone paint a powerful picture, with the Obama campaign’s digital […]
People, Etc.
Former publisher of Perseus’s Vanguard Press Roger Cooper is launching a publishing consulting firm, Roger Cooper Associates. He will be working with publishers and literary agents with ebook publishing programs to acquire digital content, and with business authors and companies to develop print and digital properties. He can be reached at rcoopernyc@gmail.com. Esther Fleece has joined Yates & Yates as an agent and vp of marketing. Most recently she was a senior leader at Focus on the Family, and in 2012, she was chosen by CNN as among the five women in religion to watch. The Guardian ran their annual feature in which […]