Benjamin Alire Saenz, 58, became the first Latino writer to win the PEN/Faulkner Fiction Prize on Saturday, for EVERYTHING BEGINS AND ENDS AT THE KENTUCKY CLUB. Published by Cinco Puntos, it’s a collection of seven loosely linked stories.
After putting Charlie Lovett‘s forthcoming THE BOOKMAN’S TALE: A Novel of Obsession on their Best Books of May list last week, now Barnes & Noble has made the book their latest B&N Recommends selection.
HCI’s former licensing and subsidiary rights director Christian Blonshine has been named executive vice president.
Brenda Knight has moved up to publisher of both Cleis Press and Viva Editions. She founded Viva Editions, and was associate publisher.
UK broadcaster and journalist Melanie Phillips has launched a media company that includes a digital book publishing imprint, emBooks. The line has launched with her memoir GUARDIAN ANGEL: My Story, My Britain, along with four other titles (including James Le Fanu’s SNAP: Has Brain Research Reached its Breaking Point?).
One-time Scribner director of publicity Suzanne Balaban is the US-based associate publisher and a co-founder. For now, titles are sold directly and via Amazon only (though titles will be available broadly “in coming days”). Former Open Road and Progressive Book Club cfo Peggy Sharpe is cfo of the new company.