A little less than two years after books from her eponymous imprint starting coming to market, Lee Boudreaux will leave Little, Brown to join Doubleday as vice president and executive editor, reporting to Bill Thomas, starting November 13. From our deal reports we count at least eight titles signed to Lee Boudreaux Books that have not been published yet, all of which will be assigned to new editors and issued by Little, Brown.
Little, Brown publisher Reagan Arthur writes, “Lee has been a really great colleague and we loved having her here. A lot! But she decided she needed to make a change.” In the announcement, Boudreaux says, “I’m incredibly excited to return to Penguin Random House and join so many old friends and former colleagues.” Boudreaux began in publishing as an editorial assistant at Doubleday and worked for Random House for almost 10 years as well, before moving to Ecco. Thomas comments in announcing the hire on “Lee’s singular, impeccable taste, her passionate, creative publishing vision, and most importantly, her fierce dedication to the craft of editing.”
Jon Fine will join Open Road as svp, publisher on October 30, with the editorial and production teams reporting to him. CEO Paul Slavin says, “Jon is a multi-talented executive with a deep background in publishing and law, and an abiding love for and commitment to books, storytellers, and the larger author and publishing community.” Since leaving Amazon at the end of 2014, Fine has provided legal and business advice to publishers and digital start-ups, including serving as general counsel for OptiQly. Previous Open Road publisher Tina Pohlman left the company in late July.
Elsewhere, Aurora Bell has been named associate editor for The Countryman Press.
Bookselling
Books & Books is opening a new location in Miami’s Coconut Grove neighborhood, at 3409 Main Highway. Owner Mitchell Kaplan tells a local blog they hope to open before the holidays. The two-story store will begin as a pop-up but “they have every expectation that they will be there for the long term.” Kaplan says, “I’m hoping that we can successfully bring our brand of independent bookselling to this very iconic building in The Grove, a community that, as a Miami native, I’ve always revered.”
Imprints
In the UK, Aimée Felone and David Stevens have launched children’s publisher Knights Of (as in the Round Table). They expect to announce their first titles in 2018, and aim to publish children’s fiction by authors and illustration from diverse backgrounds. “We’re all about hiring as widely, and as diversely as possible, to make sure the books we publish give windows into as many worlds as possible – from what’s on the page all the way to sales copy.” The two both left Scholastic UK earlier this year, and will receive publishing support from the Little Tiger Group.
In the US, fictional TV imprint Lorden + Gregor, mentioned on CW series Jane the Virgin, will publish the “debut romance novel” from show character Gloriana Villanueva, SNOW FALLING, on November 14, via Adams Media. The book was written by Caridad Pineiro. The actual star of the show Gina Rodriguez announced a deal with the Simon & Schuster imprint for a book billed as “part memoir and part advice” in 2015. Originally due for publication in 2016, the publisher says that book is still in process.
Awards
The UK’s Crime Writers Association presented their annual Dagger Awards. Winners included:
The Dry, by Jane Harper (Gold Dagger)
The Dying Detective, by Leif Persson (International Dagger)
Tall Oaks, by Chris Whitaker (“New Blood” Dagger)