Literary agent Ed Victor, 77, died the evening of June 7 of a heart attack, following a long battle with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, his company Ed Victor Ltd. confirmed to the Bookseller. The agency said: “Ed was a one-off: the toughest yet most professional of agents, who would always get the very best deal for his clients. An inveterate party-goer, he often attended three events in an evening. He will be a huge loss to the publishing industry and the wider world, and we miss him dearly.” The agency celebrated its fortieth anniversary last November.
Born in New York, Victor went to England for a graduate degree at Cambridge and London was his primary home for the past 50 years. He was named a CBE (Commander of the British Empire) for “services to literature” at the beginning of 2016.
Caroline Eisenmann will join the Frances Goldin Literary Agency as associate agent, beginning June 12, building her list of novels that engage with social issues, stories about obsession, and work that centers around intimacy and its discontents, and nonfiction focusing on reported narratives, literary memoir, cultural criticism, essay collections, and history and biography with a surprising point of view. Previously, she was with ICM for the past four years.
At Library Journal’s parent company Media Source, Judy Goldstein has been hired as svp, marketing (she was an executive at Pearson North America), and Alex Pereira joined the company as chief information officer (she worked at Pearson, Kaplan and McGraw Hill). Mark Flinn is vp, sales and business development for the information services business (he was president and CEO of Sightline Media Group), and Tracey Fenton is vice president, events and professional development (she was group head of events and strategic partnerships at Institutional Investor). Also, Sean Lockwood was promoted to senior vice president, sales and publisher relations for the Junior Library Guild division.
Marketing strategist Jack Trout, 82, co-author with Al Ries of Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind, died on Sunday.
Awards
Naomi Alderman’s novel The Power won the UK’s Women’s Prize for Fiction. (Little, Brown is scheduled to publish the US edition on October 10; Viking UK is the UK publisher.)
Imprints
Thomas Nelson has announced the launch of new imprint Emanate Books, centering on the charismatic Christian movement. Emanate will bring twelve titles to market in its first year, beginning with The Azusa Street Mission and Revival from Fuller Theological Seminary professor Cecil M. Robeck, followed by two new titles from pastors at Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas in early 2018. Joel Kneedler, former associate publisher at W Publishing, will serve as publisher.