With the final pre-Frankfurt deal reports counted, we can tell you that total US deal volume was about even with the past two years (still well off the peak in 2014). But reported six-figure or better deals for adult books declined measurably — regardless of the accounts you might read about a handful of books — with the only growth coming from children’s. For deals of all sizes, nonfiction sales — always the largest category — were strong in total number, bouncing back from last year’s dip to a more normal level. Fiction was just below even with last year, […]
Archives for October 2017
Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant Winners
The Whiting Foundation announced the eight recipients of their new $40,000 Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grants to help with the research and completion of their books: Michael Brenson, David Smith and the Transformation of American Sculpture (Farrar, Straus & Giroux) Philip Gourevitch, You Hide That You Hate Me And I Hide That I Know (Penguin Press) Pacifique Irankunda, The Times of Stories (Random House) Seth Kantner, A Thousand Trails Home (Mountaineers Books) Jay Kirk, Avoid the Day (Harper Perennial) Meghan O’Rourke, What’s Wrong With Me? The Mysteries of Chronic Illness (Riverhead Books) George Packer, Richard Holbrooke and the End of the American Century (Alfred A. Knopf) Julie Phillips, The Baby on the Fire Escape […]
People: Senior to Leave Critic Role, Bill Clinton at NBF Dinner, and More
NYT book critic Jennifer Senior “has decided to leave” her position in December, moving to a long-form journalism role at the paper. Pamela Paul and Radhika Jones write in their announcement: “Hired as a critic of nonfiction books, Jennifer proved an omnivore across genres, bringing attention to new voices in fiction and covering subjects ranging from the art of dying to the life of truckers to the obsessions of Richard Nixon.” She will “continue to contribute reviews to the Book Review, as she has for many years.” The paper “will now begin our search for a new nonfiction critic.” President […]
Refresh(ing)
Just a reminder for our friends at the Frankfurt Book Fair — or out and about any time. The new PM News App is the perfect way to follow our news, and all of the deals, as they are posted, from your mobile phone. Just go to https://m.publishersmarketplace.com to fire it up.
Is Dan Brown Still Dan Brown?
Dan Brown’s ORIGIN produced first-week sales numbers that would be strong for almost any author but Dan Brown. The book moved over 145,000 hardcovers through outlets tracked by Bookscan, and according to people at Penguin Random House internal data shows about 100,000 ebooks — mostly pre-orders — sold in the same period. The first-week US hardcover sales for Brown’s last book, INFERNO, published in May 2013, were approximately 369,000 through Bookscan outlets. (Inferno sold 6 million units in English in calendar 2013, according to Bertelsmann.) Knopf Doubleday spokesman Paul Bogaards told us, “ORIGIN had the biggest opening week of any novel published […]
New Kindle Oasis Is Waterproof
Amazon announced its new ereader, the Kindle Oasis, on Wednesday morning after a banner ad for the Amazon Android app leaked some of the details. The new device is waterproof: “it’s designed to withstand getting splashed at the beach or dropped in the bath tub, hot tub, or pool.” It also has a fast-charging battery that enables it to charge in two hours, plus the longer-than-before battery life. It’s priced at $249.99 for the 8 GB model and $279.99 for the 32 GB model, as ever, with ads. Other features include a 7-inch screen, the highest-resolution yet, and the “fastest page turns of any Kindle e-reader.” […]