Hachette Book Group has officially announced the hiring of Joe Mangan as evp and chief operating officer, starting February 3, filling the position vacated earlier in the year when Ken Michaels moved to Macmillan Science. HGB ceo Michael Pietsch says in the announcement: “Joe’s reputation is one of the best in our industry, and his skills, trade publishing experience, and leadership style are a perfect match for HBG. With his deep expertise in IT and vision for our digital future, his wealth of experience building distribution businesses, and his insight into strategic business development, Joe will be a tremendous asset […]
Archives for December 2013
People: Heffernan to Retire from Penguin
Longtime president of adult hardcover and children’s sales for Penguin Dick Heffernan will retire at the end of the year after more than 24 years with the company (and almost 40 years at a company enfolded into Penguin Random House). PRH coo Madeline McIntosh notes with “much regret” after “[trying] very hard to persuade him to change his mind about retiring” that “working together with Dick during these first few months in our merged company has been a terrific experience for me, and for our Random House group, as it has always been for our Penguin colleagues. And with us having […]
More Best Books from NYTBR, Time
The New York Times Book Review published their 10 best books of the year online on Wednesday equally separated between fiction and nonfiction. (Individual critics’ lists are still tk.) Fiction AMERICANAH, Chimananda Ngozi Adichie LIFE AFTER LIFE, Kate Atkinson THE FLAMETHROWERS, Rachel Kushner TENTH OF DECEMBER, George Saunders THE GOLDFINCH, Donna Tartt Nonfiction DAYS OF FIRE, Peter Baker AFTER THE MUSIC STOPPED, Alan S. Blinder THE SLEEPWALKERS, Christopher Clark WAVE, Sonali Deraniyagala FIVE DAYS AT MEMORIAL, Sheri Fink Time also presented its Best of Lists for fiction and nonfiction. Overlapping with the NYT’s selections, Atkinson, Saunders, and Kushner led the otherwise genre-heavy fiction […]
Amazon Delivers Another Imprint, For Short Fiction
It’s not as imaginative as an octocopter, but Amazon Publishing announced another new brand on Wednesday. StoryFront is the name for their expanding line of short fiction, sold for between 99 cents and $1.99. The imprint also houses Day One, their weekly digital magazine of short fiction and poetry — and part of StoryFront’s list sells the works that have appeared in Day One a la carte. (The journal sells for $1.59 a month.) The current collection of StoryFront stories were acquired and edited by Courtney Dodson, Carmen Johnson, Gabriella Page-Fort, and Jodi Warshaw, and going forward all Amazon Publishing editors can contribute to the “curated” […]
NPR’s Concierge, and More Bests
NPR realized their list of year-end book picks had gotten a little out of hand, with 20 lists in late 2012. “You love lists. We love lists. Everyone loves lists. And in the past five years, NPR has brought you more than 80 year-end book lists — the best book club books, the best cookbooks, the best gift books, the best guilty pleasures. We listed. You clicked. Everyone was happy.” So this year, after some “list fatigue,” they are trying a new approach. They’ve taken recommendations for over 200 notable titles from the year and built a Book Concierge app […]
People: Hayes to Retire from Harlequin, and More
Harlequin ceo and publisher Donna Hayes “has decided to retire” at the end of the year, with current Harlequin North America coo Craig Swinwood set to become the new publisher and ceo on January 1 “as part of the succession planning process.” Parent company Torstar president and ceo David Holland says in the announcement: “Donna Hayes has served Harlequin and Torstar with great distinction for the past 28 years. She has led Harlequin from being a series romance publisher to becoming a broad-based publisher of women’s fiction and has demonstrated invaluable foresight in positioning Harlequin for a more digital future.” As for Swinwood, who has […]