At Penguin Random House’s consumer marketing development group, Mina Park has been promoted to director, consumer insights. In addition, senior director, digital development Katherine McCahill joins the group, where she will be responsible for overseeing the Penguin Random House apps portfolio.
Sally Riley will step down as director of translation rights at Aitken Alexander at the end of April, though she will continue on a part time basis until a successor is in place “in order to ensure a smooth handover,” according to the agency announcement.
Michelle Cashman has joined Grand Central’s Forever imprint as publicist. Previously she was associate publicist at St. Martin’s Press.
At Chronicle Books, Lisa Bach has been promoted to director of independent special sales.
Filmmaker Michael Mann is shopping an eponymous publishing imprint to publishers, Michael Mann Books, Deadline reports. They stretch the facts in saying Mann “has made a deal to launch” the imprint, since the story makes clear that is not the case — rather, agent Shane Salerno at The Story Factory is taking the imprint to publishers. Deadline says “the imprint will generate a series of novels with a stable of writers and the properties will simultaneously be developed for film and television.” One project is a prequel to Mann’s own crime thriller Heat. (Note that production company Temple Hill Production recently made a publishing deal with HarperCollins.)
Forthcoming
Hodder & Stoughton in the UK has accidentally pre-announced the new John Grisham novel, coming October 25. It is called The Whistler: “Who judges the top US judges when they break the law? The answer in this case is Lacy Stolz, a lawyer responsible for dealing with complaints of judicial misconduct. When she is approached on behalf of a whistle-blower, she has no idea what she is about to walk into. Danger is one thing, death is quite another…”
In the meantime, on March 29 Grisham will release his first original digital short story, a $1.99 standalone prequel to Rogue Lawyer, titled Partners.