The National Book Critics Circle Award winners were announced Thursday evening: FICTION Ben Fountain, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (Ecco) NONFICTION Andrew Solomon, Far From the Tree (Scribner) BIOGRAPHY Robert A. Caro, The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson (Knopf) AUTOBIOGRAPHY Leanne Shapton, Swimming Studies (Blue Rider Press) CRITICISM Marina Warner, Stranger Magic: Charmed States and the Arabian Nights (Belknap Press) POETRY D. A. Powell, Useless Landscape, or A Guide for Boys (Graywolf Press) Some of the suspense was deflated when, a little less than an hour before the NBCC ceremony began at 6 PM, NYT publishing reporter […]
Archives for February 2013
Penguin Ordered to Participate in States’ eBook Trial, For Now
Though Penguin agreed to settle the ebook lawsuit brought by the Department of Justice in December, the company has yet to finalize a settlement of the parallel state ebook price-fixing lawsuit. With that second suit still pending and heading to trial, on Wednesday afternoon Judge Cote formally denied Penguin’s request to sit out the June 2013 trial (in which Penguin is formally named the lead defendant in the states’ case.) Penguin therefore must submit an initial witness list by March 1, and has until March 15 to file a motion that would “assert its right not to defend against the […]
Barnes & Noble Reports Big Q3 Nook Device Losses, Plans “Cost Reduction Program” To Curttail Expenses
Barnes & Noble’s third quarter financial report for the period ending January 26 was not expected to deliver much in the way of good news, Thursday morning’s report was in line with those meager expectations. CEO William Lynch reiterated in the investor conference call “we’re obviously disappointed that our Nook tablets didn’t perform better over the holiday.” Following heavier losses on that device sales shortfall, Lynch said the company is “taking significant actions to begin a rightsizing of the Nook costs.” He said the company concluded that “larger technology brands have more resonance in that multifunction tablet world than we do” […]
Curtis Brown UK Buys Stake In Conville & Walsh
One of London’s largest literary agencies Curtis Brown UK has purchased a 50 percent share in Conville & Walsh, effective March 1. Conville & Walsh will remain in their current office until November, when they will move into Curtis Brown UK’s current premises. Curtis Brown UK executives Jonny Geller and Ben Hall will join the Conville & Walsh board and “Conville & Walsh will retain its name and operating independence.” The move comes not long after United Agents purchased AP Watt last November. Sophie Lambert is joining the Conville & Walsh team as an agent on April 8. She has been at Tibor Jones […]
People, Etc.
At today’s annual meeting of the Association of American Publishers (AAP), Simon & Schuster ceo Carolyn Reidy formally took over from Cengage executive chairman Ron Dunn as chair of the organization’s board of directors. In the UK, Jo Unwin will join Doubleday UK as deputy publisher on April 8, reporting to Marianne Velmans. Unwin was previously an agent at Conville & Walsh, which announced it sold a 50 percent stake in its business to Curtis Brown (see separate story). Catherine Burke has been promoted to publisher, Sphere fiction at Little, Brown UK. At Penguin, Suzie Sisoler has been promoted to senior director […]
eNews: Bug in Amazon’s Latest iOS App Update Erases Users’ Libraries; Free Kindle Book Affiliate Sites Get Crackdown
Amazon has warned users not to download the latest version of its iOS Kindle app because of a bug that deletes existing libraries from your device and can “deregister” the user. The iTunes page now includes a note that says, “There is a known issue with this update. If you are an existing Kindle for iOS user, we recommend you do not install this update at this time.” An Amazon spokesperson told Mashable, “To register, enter your Amazon account e-mail address and password and all your Amazon content will be available in the cloud. We have submitted an update fix […]