At Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Andrew Smith has been promoted to svp, deputy publisher, executive director of New Business Development, focusing on building the company’s licensing program and expanding its digital initiatives. Of Smith’s promotion, evp, publisher Megan Tingley stated: “In the seven years since he joined Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, the publishing landscape has changed dramatically and Andrew has been a vital and visionary force in developing strategies for success and growth across Editorial, Design, Marketing, Publicity, Subsidiary Rights, and Sales.”
Google Play has expanded into nine additional countries in Asia, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and New Zealand, bringing the total to 35.
The National Endowment of the Arts announced that full results from its 2012 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA) would be released in 2014 but in the meantime, offered initial results and highlights. With respect to reading, 57 percent of American adults read a work of literature or a book (fiction or nonfiction) not required for work or school, but rates of literary reading (novels or short stories, poetry, and plays) was only 47 percent, down from 50 percent in 2008 and closer to the rate recorded in its widely-discussed 2002 survey. In addition, the highest rates of literary reading (61 percent) were found among those aged 65-74.
Crime writer Robert Barnard, 76, died September 19 from complications of dementia.