In the UK, Henry Volans will lead a new Faber Press division as director. It comprises poetry, drama, film and classical music publishing in all formats, and incorporates Faber Fine Press, Faber Finds, and Faber Digital as well. CEO Stephen Page says: “Henry takes on a very wide brief with this role, looking at how we create value for our authors, and for our readers. With the materials at hand – the extraordinary backlist, the talented editors, there is a huge amount that can be done. Faber Social was our prototype for this without even knowing it, finding out what readers want and […]
Archives for October 2014
People, Etc.
Amazon’s director of author and publisher relations Jon Fine “has decided to leave the company at the end of the year,” according to internal announcement cited by Porter Anderson. The note from Charles Kronbach says, “Over the last seven years, he has represented Amazon at hundreds of publishing and author events around the world, helping to raise awareness about the myriad opportunities Amazon offers to the storytelling community. More to come on transition as we move towards Jon’s departure at year’s end.” Fine first joined Amazon in 2006 as director of copyright and media law. At Viking Penguin, Melanie Tortoroli […]
Alan Cumming Tops November Indie Next List
Alan Cumming’s Not My Father’s Son: A Memoir is the No. 1 pick for November on the ABA’s Indie Next list. It’s among the big fall/winter releases you can preview in our latest free PL Buzz Books ebook, along with Michael Faber’s novel and Charles Blow’s memoir, also on the November list: The Book of Strange New Things, by Michel Faber Crooked River, by Valerie Geary Falling From Horses, by Molly Gloss Sometimes the Wolf, by Urban Waite The Remedy for Love, by Bill Roorbach All My Puny Sorrows, by Miriam Toews The Birds of Pandemonium: Life Among the Exotic and the […]
Egmont USA Is Up for Sale
The Egmont Publishing group announced Thursday it has decided to sell their Egmont USA division “as part of an overall strategic focus on market leading positions.” The company was established in 2008 and started publishing in 2009. The $900 million publishing division has decided “to invest in books and magazine businesses where Egmont can hold a leading market position.” CEO of Egmont Publishing International Rob McMenemy said in the announcement, “Since 2009, and starting from scratch, Egmont USA has built a children’s fiction and young adult fiction list, and it has a strong plan for the future under the excellent leadership […]
Separating Write On from Amazon’s “Reader-Powered Publishing”
Subsequent to our report based on accounts from others, Amazon spokesperson Susan Stockman has clarified that the WriteOn by Kindle beta program is a separate initiative from the still-unnamed –and still-unlaunched — reader-powered publishing program that was explained a little further in a recent company email. “Write On is a new community where writers and readers share in the creative process,” Stockman writes. “It’s been rolling out slowly and will continue to ramp up over the coming months.” According to Write On forum posts, the site has been quietly live at least since some time in April. Community manager Jon Wahlgren posted […]
Harper Offers Authors Additional Net Royalty For Online Direct Sales Referrals
As promised in July when HarperCollins relaunched their web site to focus on making their full catalog of books, ebooks and audiobooks available for sale to consumers, the company is now ready to provide additional compensation to “our authors who want to sell directly” via Harper’s shopping cart. Authors who add a linked HarperCollins “buy” button on their sites or directly integrate the Harper shopping cart will receive an additional 10 percent of net on those sales, to be credited through their regular twice-annual royalty statements. Authors interested in implementing the new offer should start by contacting their editors, though […]