The Authors Guild announced that longtime executive director Paul Aiken, 54, was diagnosed with early-stage ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). Aiken is currently in remission of symptoms due to steroid therapy, and promises to start posting his medical records for those who are interested in this treatment regimen. “He admits he has no way of knowing whether his remission will continue or whether he has some odd strain of ALS, so his treatment might not apply to others. He’s hoping to use the blog to help find out.”
Authors Guild president Scott Turow says,”It’s business as usual at the Authors Guild. I’m happy to know that for the foreseeable future, Paul will continue to guide our efforts, just as he has for nearly two decades.”
Cynthia Black, president and editor-in-chief of Beyond Words and best known as the editor of The Secret passed away in Hawaii at the age of 61. Publisher Richard Cohn writes: “Cynthia had perseverance, hope, imagination, humor, and a vision of the future that helped Beyond Words, in partnership with Atria Books/Simon & Schuster, become one of the greatest publishing houses in the self-discovery genre.”
The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators has added to their many grants and awards a new Spark Award for self-published authors, to recognize “excellence in a children’s book published through a non-traditional publishing route.”
OverDrive is conducting their second “Big Library Read,” providing free access via library ebook and digital audio programs to Jone O’Connor’s NANCY CLANCY for two weeks
Random House has partnered with Flipboard to collaborate on custom digital “magazines” connected to their authors. In the first two collections, Margaret Atwood has curated pieces in connection with her new novel MaddAddam, and the site Westeros.org covers the fictional worlds of George R.R. Martin.