At Penguin Random House, Nihar Malaviya has been promoted to evp, deputy chief operating officer, reporting to Madeline McIntosh. He will continue with his existing duties overseeing strategic planning, analytics, and program development, while also adding direct oversight for the company’s combined corporate technology teams and for the Random House operations teams. McIntosh writes in the internal announcement : “Over the past few years, Nihar’s mandate has been to apply his uniquely powerful gifts for strategic planning to the task of expanding our competitive advantages in the evolving marketplace. The direct results of his leadership are seen in the Random House vendor- managed inventory, consumer insights, and pricing analytics programs.” She adds: “His ability to translate risks into opportunities, and to bring to the process a genuine curiosity, humility and humor, make him a vital force working on behalf of our business, and a genuine champion and ally for all of us.”
In addition, Chris Hart has been promoted to svp, director, technology, while Sue Malone-Barber moves up to svp, director, publishing operations, both newly reporting to Malaviya. Finally, Alyssa Awe has been promoted to vp, integration director for North America.
Daniel Nayeri will join Workman on December 18 as director of children’s publishing. He has been digital editorial director at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, prior to which he was an editor at Clarion. He comments: “I am thankful, of course, for this wonderful opportunity and honored to be following Raquel Jaramillo–in whose giant footsteps I could probably swim laps. In addition to upholding the award-winning and bestselling list already at Workman, I look forward to creating quirky and joyful nonfiction for children, game books, inventive board books, and books you can only describe as ‘objets d’art pour les enfants génial et terribles,’ art objects for great and terrible children.”
At the Crown Publishing Group, Chris Brand has been named art director, for Crown, Hogarth, Broadway, and corporate identity.
Lanora Haradon, formerly of Next Chapter Bookstore in Wisconsin, is working for World Book Night US pro bono as a data analyst. They plan on adding three more YA/middle reader titles to the already-announced 2014 book list, with announcements later this week. Executive Director Carl Lennertz notes that 87 independent bookstores have enrolled as new host locations so far, and they welcome more applications.
EL James speaks to Entertainment Weekly as the movie version of Fifty Shades of Grey is about to start filming. While she has “written another book,” James declines to discuss the story other than to say “it’s very different than Fifty.” Asked if it will be published any time soon, she replies, “I don’t know.”
Author Dan Brown made a rare public appearance to help kick off the thirtieth Miami Book Fair on Sunday. (Opening events also included an appearance by the prince and princess of Spain.) “I don’t speak professionally very often, but when the Miami Book Fair asks you to celebrate their 30th anniversary, you don’t say no,” Brown told the audience.
In awards news, ahead of Wednesday night’s National Book Awards, Ladbrokes has updated its betting odds for the fiction category (the first time they’ve listed odds on a US-based book award):
Tenth of December, George Saunders 9/4
The Lowland, Jhumpa Lahiri 3/1
The Good Lord Bird, James McBride 3/1
Bleeding Edge, Thomas Pynchon 4/1
The Flame Throwers, Rachel Kushner 5/1
Also, the UK National Book Awards announced finalists in seven categories, with the winners to be awarded at a televised ceremony on December 11. Nominated for popular fiction book of the year are:
The State We’re In, Adele Parks
An Officer And A Spy, Robert Harris
Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, Helen Fielding
Solo, William Boyd
Oh Dear Silvia, Dawn French
The White Princess, Philippa Gregory