Amazon is making yet another pass at short-form digital prose after years of failing to establish a market of scale, this time by announcing an imprint of Amazon Publishing called Amazon Original Stories. They will publish short works of fiction and nonfiction that can be read in a single sitting, available for purchase in the Kindle Singles store for $1.99 and free for Prime members. The first two titles, The Sign of the Beast by Joyce Carol Oates and Crown Heights by Colin Warner and Carl King, are already available, with work on deck from W. Kamau Bell, Jade Chang, Eddie Huang, Dean Koontz, and more. […]
Archives for November 2017
People, Etc.
Cheryl L. Davis has joined the Authors Guild as general counsel. She is a former partner at Menaker & Herrmann, where she focused on intellectual property issues and litigating copyright and trademark cases. Davis is also an award-winning playwright. She says in the announcement, “This job is really a dream come true for me. Not only does it open new horizons for me in the practice of intellectual property law, it gives me the opportunity to help my fellow authors and advocate for their rights.” At Putnam, Tara Singh Carlson has been promoted to executive editor. Gallery Books Group associate […]
Former Students File Title IX Complaints Against Author and UVA Professor John Casey
Two former University of Virginia students have filed Title IX complaints against author and creative writing professor John Casey, alleging incidents of sexual harassment and asserting that he created a hostile environment for female students. The University is investigating the two complaints, both filed earlier this month. University spokesperson Anthony de Bruyn said, “The university takes seriously any report of sexual harassment and is investigating this matter in accordance with its applicable policy and procedures.” 2014 MFA graduate Emma Eisenberg filed her complaint November 11, saying Casey “repeatedly touched” her and other female students in public, and commented inappropriately on […]
Skyhorse Employees to Vote on Unionizing This Week
The recent wave of unionization by media companies is now encompassing book publishing. Approximately 60 Skyhorse Publishing employees will vote November 30 on whether to join United Auto Workers Local 2110, the NY Daily News reported. Local 2110 is the same union that The New Press joined in 2001 — the last book publisher to unionize — and also includes some HarperCollins employees. (You can view the most recent Harper collective bargaining agreement here.) The bargaining unit, led by copyeditor Terry Buck, said that unionizing will lead to better health benefits, more overtime, lighter workloads, and better diversity hiring goals. […]
Briefs: NYT Lists, Pearson’s Deal for Wall Street English, Waterstones Announces New Stores
People Eva Scalzo has joined Speilburg Literary Agency, representing romance and young adult fiction. Best Of Last Wednesday the NYTBR posted their list of 100 notable books for 2017. That means their top 10 list is due later this week. Former NYT book critic Michiko Kakutani doesn’t have a vote this year, but last week she indicated in a Tweet that three of her “favorite novels” from the year are Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders, Exit West by Mohsin Hamid, and Stay with Me by Ayobami Adebayo. Corporate As expected, Pearson has reached a deal to sell their Wall Street English […]
People, Etc.
Alex Coumbis has joined Laurence King Publishing as a senior publicist based in New York City. Amanda Olson will join Annick Press, as marketing manager starting January 2. Previously sales manager for Harper Canada, she takes over as Brigitte Waisberg retires after 12 years at Annick Press and 37 years in publishing. Claire Caldwell has been hired as associate editor. She was at Harlequin. The just-released movie The Man Who Invented Christmas, based on the book by Les Standiford, is the first theatrical release for a project developed by Mazur / Kaplan, the nine-year-old production company pairing bookseller Mitchell Kaplan and producer […]