In advance of Book Expo, the American Booksellers Association told the AP that the organization added 78 members in the last year, growing to 1,835 members overall. Members store locations totaled 2,470, an increase of 149 from a year ago. That follows a quieter year, in which core membership had declined by 18 and member locations had grown by only 10 stores. ABA ceo Oren Teicher says in that in the first four months of 2018, ABA member stores reporting sales to Bookscan grew unit sales by over 5 percent — more or less in line with (actually slightly below) […]
Archives for May 2018
People, Etc.
Further to our news brief about Sarah Crichton leaving FSG at the end of the year to pursue other opportunities, when we queried the publisher about it last week they said there was no announcement. Now they have issued a statement, in which FSG publisher and president Jonathan Galassi says, “With her unique blend of enthusiasm, discernment and publishing talent, Sarah has been a beloved and energizing presence at FSG. She will be missed.” Crichton adds, “My almost-fifteen year run at FSG has been a joy. I am leaving with great fondness for my colleagues, my wonderful authors and their splendid books. This has […]
2018 Sales Started Strong, But Will That Hold?
The AAP reported their StatShot sales from approximately 1,100 publishers for January, February and March of 2018 all at once on Friday afternoon. As you might expect, the data shows trade publishing sales starting the year off strong, driven by Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff, along with other new titles including The Woman In the Window by AJ Finn and 12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson. But the monthly comparisons show a very strong January, a more modestly positive February, and then a declining March (even with Easter falling early in 2018), underscoring the key question for now […]
People, Etc.
Alysia Shewchuk has been promoted to senior designer at House of Anansi Press. Caroline Hayes has left Barnes & Noble, where she was most recently manager, cataloging and metadata. She may be reached at carolineahayes@gmail.com. Sarah Crichton will leave her position as publisher of Sarah Crichton Books at FSG at the end of this year. She established the imprint there in 2004. Correcting last week’s item, executive editor Carole DeSanti “has decided to depart from Viking,” but is not retiring. Former editor turned author George Hodgman paid tribute to DeSanti in this Facebook post, joined by many others in publishing. For […]
Accountant Charged With Embezzling $3.4 Million From Donadio & Olson
A recently unsealed federal criminal complaint revealed that longtime Donadio & Olson accountant Darin Webb was charged earlier this month with embezzling $3.4 million from the literary agency between January 2011 and March 2018. According to the 5-page complaint, Webb, who was employed by Donadio & Olson as their bookkeeper since 2001, “used his position as the Agency’s bookkeeper to transfer more than $3.4 million of funds, belonging to the Agency and the Agency’s clients, from the Agency’s bank accounts to bank accounts that [he] controlled. In order to evade detection of his criminal conduct and carry out his scheme, […]
Summer Previews
With Memorial Day on the way, a number of publications have compiled summer reading lists of forthcoming or recently released books. You can start reading several of the titles right now in our Buzz Books 2018 Spring/Summer sampler (titles that appear in the collection are marked with asterisks). The Washington Post Book’s “39 Books We’re Talking About This Summer” includes: Air Traffic, by Gregor Pardlo An American Marriage, by Tayari Jones Asymmetry, by Lisa Halliday Beneath a Ruthless Sun, by Gilbert King Chasing Hillary, by Amy Chozick Circe, by Madeline Miller Directorate S, by Steve Coll Enlightenment Now, by Steven Pinker The […]