Will Atkinson will join Atlantic Books as managing director and publisher on October 1. Previously he was sales and marketing director at Faber, where he spent the past 20 years. Atlantic chairman Peter Roche said in the announcement “At Faber, [Atkinson] has demonstrated an unrelenting enthusiasm for independent publishing tempered with an unparalleled zeal for negotiating the best deal. I’ve admired Will’s work for many years and believe he is the perfect person to head up Atlantic Books.
Rowan Cope will join Simon & Schuster UK as editorial director on October 13. Previously she was a senior editor at Little, Brown UK and Virago. In addition, Clare Hey has been promoted to editorial director.
Phaidon has acquired Artspace, an online marketplace for discovering and collecting fine art, which will establish “a global community for art enthusiasts and professionals, artists, collectors, non-profits, galleries and cultural institutions,” the company said in an announcement.
California Bookstore Day is going national next year, rebranded as Independent Bookstore Day and set for May 2. All nine regional bookselling associations are taking part and offering $1,000 for a logo. “We are asking creative, artistic book lovers to create and submit a logo that will be represent this nationwide event. The winning submission will appear on all promotions, products, and merchandising in conjunction with Independent Bookstore Day.” Submissions should be sent by October 15 to Carrie Obry, executive director of the Midwest Booksellers Association, at carrie@midwestbooksellers.org.
Baltimore’s breathe bookstore & cafe is for sale, Shelf Awareness reports, as owner Susan Weis-Bohlen intends “spend less time running a café” and devote more energy to her growing Ayurvedic client business. She added that “she intends to continue running offsite events and will keep the breathe books website”, and may also open a small bookstore near her home in Reisterstown.
In a courtroom conference Thursday, Judge Cote ordered three defunct ebook retailers — DNAML, Lavoho (formerly Diesel) and Abbey House Media (formerly Books on Board) to enter mediation with Apple and the five “Agency Five” publishers the retailers sued for “harming their businesses” in separate lawsuits in 2013, but were brought together earlier this year (and may include more plaintiffs). Judge Cote did not set a trial date but, PW reports, outlined a schedule that could have the case ready for trial in fall 2015.