• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Login
  • Register

Publishers Lunch

The Publishing Industry's Daily Essential Read

  • Publishers Marketplace
  • Site Guide
  • Help

Briefs: Clare’s Lawyer Responds to Kenyon Lawsuit; “Birthday Cake” Author Speaks Out; and More

February 12, 2016
By Sarah Weinman

Cassandra Clare‘s lawyer, John Cahill of Cahill Associates, issued a statement Thursday afternoon responding to Sherrilyn Kenyon’s trademark and copyright infringment lawsuit filed against Clare late last week. “Cassie was both surprised and disappointed that Ms. Kenyon would file this baseless lawsuit, a decade after the debut of Cassie’s books. Kenyon is wrong when she claims that Cassandra Clare or her publisher made any agreements about using ‘shadowhunters.’ Cassie never gave Kenyon any assurances regarding this and, although she would have preferred to resolve any concerns that Ms. Kenyon has or may have had, Ms. Kenyon never contacted or spoke with her.”

Kenyon’s suit, Cahill said, “rests on a basic misunderstanding of copyright law and Cassie’s totally original work. The law does not protect ideas and myths, it protects only the expression of those ideas.” These “basic factual inaccuracies” include the identification of a main character’s “stepfather as her ‘best friend,’ alleges that the term ‘daimons’ appears in her books (the word is never used) and claims that one of her main characters is based on a Kenyon character whose similar attributes were first revealed some three years after Cassie had created and told the backstory of the relevant protagonist. Tellingly, the lawsuit failed to identify a single instance of actual copying or plagiarism by Cassie.” Clare’s lawyer expects the suit to be dismissed as “there is little chance of anyone confusing [Clare’s] Young Adult themes and orientation with the sometimes very adult storylines in Ms. Kenyon’s books.”

In her first interview since Scholastic withdrew the children’s book “A Birthday Cake for George Washington” for potentially giving “a false impression of the reality of the lives of slaves,” author Ramin Ganeshram told the AP she expressed repeated misgivings about the production process and the lack of communication with illustrator Vanessa Brantley Newton, well in advance of publication. “The public does not know that the authors (of picture stories) are not in full control of their books. The public feels if you write the book, the book is yours and you make the decisions. But in children’s publishing at least, that is entirely untrue. Authors and illustrators often do not speak, or interact. I never had a conversation with Vanessa, just a few tweets.”

Ganeshram said she had researched the life of the slave Hercules, Washington’s head chef, for several years and planned “Birthday Cake” to be the first in a series of works. “For me, Hercules is everything, so every opportunity to present him to the world was something to be seriously considered.” But Ganeshram said she objected to what she characterized as the illustrations’ “over-joviality” to editor Andrea Pinkney as far back as last spring, and her frustration at not being in contact with the illustrator. “And I said, ‘When can I start speaking to Vanessa? I would like to send some research material.’ And the editor told me, ‘Authors and illustrators don’t interact,'”

Minnesota-based children’s publisher Amicus is launching a trade-oriented imprint, Amicus Ink, in a bid to move beyond the school library market. The launch list features six original photographic nonfiction board books and 59 nonfiction paperbacks. Amicus Ink titles will be distributed to the trade through Chronicle Books, while The Creative Company will handle sales & marketing.

In People news, Skyhorse has hired Trish Manney as special sales manager. She had been special sales manager at Stockpile Books for the last 15 years.

Filed Under: Authors, Children's, Free, Legal, New Imprints, Personnel

sidebar

Primary Free Sidebar

Login


Forgot password
Quick Pass users click here to log in
Get Full Access
The publishing industry's essential daily read

Each Publishers Lunch Deluxe subscription includes full access to our searchable multi-year archive of industry news, a nightly email reporting 10 to 50 deal transactions, and our database of industry contacts, scripts, and posting privileges.

Learn More

RSS Automat

  • Judge Rules Andrew Cuomo Can Keep Proceeds of $5.1 Million Book Deal August 17, 2022 NYT
  • The Horse Whisperer Author Nicholas Evans Died at 72 August 15, 2022 Guardian
  • Salman Rushdie Attacked By Man Storming the Stage at Chautaqua Institution August 12, 2022 AP
  • Former UK Art Book Publisher Diana Steel Died at 82 August 9, 2022 Announcement
  • Foot Traffic Data Sample Suggests Visits to Barnes & Noble Lag Pre-Pandemic (and Last Summer) August 9, 2022 The List
  • Author David McCullough Dies Sunday at 89 August 8, 2022 NYT
  • Brandon Sanderson's Company Mainframe Licenses Audios of Two New Novellas to RBMedia August 8, 2022 Press Release
  • Carmen Gimenez Takes Over As Executive Director At Graywolf August 8, 2022 NYT
  • Author Melissa Bank Dies At 61 August 4, 2022 USAT
  • BookStat Sold to Podium Audio, With Investment for Further Build-Out July 26, 2022 Press Release
© 2022 Publishers Lunch. All Rights Reserved.