JK Rowling’s new mystery THE SILKWORM, published under the pen name Robert Galbraith, went on sale today. Amazon is offering the hardcover, lightly discounted by 10 percent and listed as “usually ships in 1 to 2 months.” (That should effectively give lie to the minor blog meme that Hachette Book Group is unable or unwilling to efficiently supply Amazon with inventory.) But early this morning, Amazon still did not have the Kindle format ebook on sale at all. Social media and the Kindle discussion forum started filling with complaints and questions, since Amazon had previously told customers who pre-ordered Hachette Book Group titles when […]
Archives for June 2014
People
Samhain Publishing owner Christina Brashear has returned to the operational role of publisher and “her first order of business was to restructure the editorial team.” Publisher Lindsey Faber is leaving and will serve a consulting role, and editorial director Heather Osborn will become a freelance editor. Brashear says, “Samhain will be returning to its roots of finding and publishing bestselling romance writers” such as Maya Banks and Lorelei James. She pledges a “renewed dedication to monetize subsidiary rights” for the list of over 2,500 novels. The Samhain Horror line under editor Don D’Auria will double its publishing volume in the next […]
People, Etc.
Paul Crichton is leaving Simon & Schuster Children’s, where he is vp, executive director of publicity, on June 27, after more than nine years. Crichton plans to “to take some time off this summer and literally travel around the world as he mulls the next steps in his career.” President and publisher of S&S Children’s Jon Anderson commended Crichton in a statement for “garnering a significant amount of attention for our titles” by the likes of Scott Westerfield, Cassandra Clare, Rachel Renee Russell, John Lithgow, and Ellen Hopkins…His contacts with the press, his reputation within children’s publishing, and his relationships […]
Corporate: New Sales Structure at Hachette UK; Berteslmann to Exit German Book Club Business
Hachette UK has reorganized its sales force into two groups due to “substantial changes to our markets.” The first group comprises Little Brown UK and Orion; the second comprises Hodder & Stoughton, Headline, Hachette Children’s Books and Quercus. As a result of the changes, sales director at Orion Dallas Manderson is leaving “to pursue other interests” while executive director sales and marketing at Quercus Jane Harris is also exiting in July. Hachette said the restructure means a “small number of roles in sales are now at risk of redundancy.” The Little Brown UK and Orion team will be overseen by Rob Manser, currently […]
eNews: Oyster App on Android; Crown Expands Blogging for Books; and More
Subscription ebook service Oyster has launched its Android app, Oyster for Android, available on Nook HD, Kindle Fire, and all other Android devices. The Crown Publishing Group has expanded its Blogging for Books initiative, which makes available both advance and finished print and digital copies to bloggers, across all imprints in eight categories: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Faith, Business, Cooking & Food, Better Living, Crafts, and Entertainment. The program was founded by Waterbrook Multnomah in 2009 and grew to a network of 12,000 bloggers, and has generated over 30,000 reviews. Ingram Publishing Services and Longleaf, launched in 2006 by the University of […]
People, Etc.
The winding down of Byliner.com continues with the departure of co-founder and ceo John Tayman. He told contributors in an email on Sunday, “I’ve stepped down as Byliner’s CEO, but I’ll be forever thankful for the opportunity to work with and for you,” the NY Observer reports. Tayman is the one who, when we queried him in early May about reports that Byliner was looking for a buyer and would have to wind down within a month or so if no purchaser came forward, declined to respond and reportedly instructed staff to keep quiet. Co-founder Mark Bryant left the company […]