Allie Brosh leads the ABA’s November 2013 Indie Next list, which includes four titles you can start reading right now in our Publishers Lunch Buzz Books free ebook (asterisked): Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened, by Allie Brosh Two Prospectors: The Letters of Sam Shepard and Johnny Dark, Chad Hammett, Ed. We Are Water, by Wally Lamb* The Valley of Amazement, by Amy Tan* Bellman & Black, by Diane Setterfield Death of a Nightingale: A Nina Borg Thriller, by Lene Kaaberbøl and Agnete Friis Tatiana: An Arkady Renko Novel, by Martin […]
Archives for October 2013
People, Etc.
Another set of Douglas & McIntrye alums — former publisher Trena White and former coo Jesse Finkelstein — have started a new company. Their Page Two Strategies is “a full-service publishing agency” that “will help non-fiction authors navigate their full range of publishing options, including self-publishing, and also provide consulting services to companies looking to develop or expand their own publishing strategies.” Page Two also has an alliance with the Translatlantic Agency, in which White and Finkelstein will represent some nonfiction in a traditional fashion, as associate agents. At Scribner, Kate Lloyd has been promoted to associate director of publicity. […]
Profits Rebound at Canongate
Independent publisher Canongate definitely had a better year in fiscal 2012, after a disastrous experience the previous year with Julian Assange. It was their iconic hit, the 2002 Booker winner LIFE OF PI, the led the revitalized results, thanks to the success of the film version. After an operating loss for 2011 and pre-tax profit of just £300,000, Canongate reported a pre-tax gain of nearly £1 million for 2012. Reporting their sales is a little confusing, however. The company says in a brief statement that 2012 sales were £9.6 million — and asserts that was an increase of £1.7 million […]
French Bill Targets Amazon
The French government is definitely thinking very seriously about the possibility of putting their foot down just a tiny bit regarding Amazon’s discount book offers. The National Assembly passed a weakened bill acknowledged in debate to target Amazon that would outlaw combining the massive maximum-allowed discount of 5 percent on new books along with free shipping. The bill will go to the Senate, and then, according to reports, back to the National Assembly. President of Amazon France Roman Voog told French newspaper Le Figaro: “Many consumers live a long way from a bookshop and appreciate being able to buy their […]
Tom Clancy Dies
Author Tom Clancy, 66, died on Tuesday at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore “after a brief illness,” the Baltimore Sun reported, confirmed by his publisher. Putnam is due to release his seventeenth novel COMMAND AUTHORITY in December, and the movie Jack Ryan: Shadow One is also scheduled for a Christmas day release. Penguin executive David Shanks, who was personally involved in the publication of Clancy’s books, said in a company release: “I’m deeply saddened by Tom’s passing. He was a consummate author, creating the modern-day thriller, and was one of the most visionary storytellers of our time. I will miss […]
Dealmaking Jumps Ahead of Frankfurt
As usual it’s time for our preliminary report on deal activity ahead of the Frankfurt Book Fair (with our final tallies coming in a week), and it’s clear that September was a booming month for US dealmaking, across the board. We recorded our highest-ever September deal totals in all three major categories — nonfiction, fiction and children’s — with children’s deals rebounding the most after lagging this time last year. Overall, the 593 US deals reported this September was 26 percent higher than the same month a year ago (when the market was down 4 percent overall, and even more […]