The AP has their Book Expo round-up piece, recapping some of the politically-focused events and high-profile fall titles. But attendees “also speculated about Book Expo. Square footage for the show has shrunk noticeably in recent years and the large gaps on the convention floor at times gave Book Expo the look of an idled factory. Publishers have wondered for years whether the convention was necessary in the Internet Age, when deals once negotiated at BookExpo are now accomplished online.”
Awards
Karan Mahajan won the NYPL Young Lions Fiction Award for The Association of Small Bombs.
Obituaries
Avie Bennett, 89, former owner of McClelland & Stewart, has died. Brad Martin, president and ceo of Penguin Random House Canada, said: “Avie Bennett left an indelible mark on the world of Canadian letters through his ownership of McClelland & Stewart and his unwavering commitment to, and support of, Canadian authors during his time at the helm of McClelland & Stewart and every day since. We owe him a great debt and much appreciation. He will be missed.”
The story of the transfer of M&S from Bennett to Random House and the University of Toronto receives a fresh look in Elaine Dewar’s The Handover: How Bigwigs and Bureaucrats Transferred Canada’s Best Publisher and the Best Part of Our Literary Heritage to a Foreign Multinational, covered extensively in MacLean’s.