Vice president and publisher of WaterBrook and Multnomah Alex Field is leaving the company in September to start an author-consulting business. Crown has begun searching for his successor. Publisher for Christian Publishing Tina Constable writes, “He has been a true partner in helping me position WaterBrook and Multnomah for the future…. Alex is a man of deep faith, and his in-depth knowledge of the Christian landscape combined with his joyful spirit and exuberant smile will be missed by all.”
Poet Dionne Brand has been named to the newly-created position of poetry editor at McClelland & Stewart.
If you haven’t read it yet, NY Magazine has a detailed Kremlinology on Michiko Kakutani‘s departure from the NYT, concluding “If Kakutani jumped, there was a wind at her back.”
They report: “According to two sources, Kakutani asked if she could write a political column for the Times. Because of the solid wall between news and opinion at the paper, that would have meant leaving her job. Others speculate it could have been some kind of plum writer-at-large job, including a Times magazine contract. The confidant says that writing outside the book section was ‘something she wanted to do more of — just anything you can think of, except food.’…. Whatever it was she was looking for at the Times, it wasn’t available. Under all these circumstances — a new boss demanding uncomfortable levels of team spirit, a lateral promotion denied — the buyout is perceived by some Times staff members as something short of completely voluntary.”
Corporate
Publisher All Due Respect has become part of Tampa-based Down & Out Books. Publisher and executive editor Chris Rhatigan will continue to oversee the line, while partner Mike Monson “is stepping away” from the business.
OverDrive announced it has been certified as a B Corporation, which “acknowledges the company’s commitment to creating exceptional positive social and environmental impact.”
Initiatives
Barnes & Noble has launched the B&N Podcast, featuring conversations with top authors six to eight times a month.
Harper Christian has paired with self-publishing service providers Accurance and Fast Pencil to create a self-publishing “imprint,” Elm Hill. Director of publishing services for HarperChristian Pete Nikolai is also publisher of Elm Hill. The site claims to offer a “never-been-done-before experience,” in part by “leveraging HarperCollins Christian Publishing’s outstanding sales and distribution.” Packages range from $1,399 to $8,999; the distribution option is available to those paying $6,799 or more, but the “notable channels” they work with are primarily online stores and wholesalers. For $3,500, you can take online courses in book marketing to become what they call a Professional Certified Author (which, in the old days, is what we called a writer who got paid by someone to license and publish their work).