San Antonio author and publisher of Wings Press Bryce Milligan has been accused of sexual misconduct by Hailey Laine Johnson, his student from 2000 to 2002. In a Facebook post, Johnson alleges that when she was 14, a freshman at North East School of the Arts, Milligan made sexual comments to her on multiple occasions and sexually assaulted her. She writes in part: “he’d kiss my neck when no one was looking, he’d have me sit on his lap while he graded homework.” Johnson goes on, “I did not have the strength to tell him no or to stop because of […]
Archives for May 2018
People, Etc.
Atria executive editor Johanna Castillo will “return to her roots” and join Writers House as a senior literary agent on June 6. (Prior to her long career at Atria, Castillo worked at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates.) Castillo says: “After working closely with a wonderful roster of authors and colleagues for nearly fifteen years, I wanted to go back to being a literary agent and be able to find new talent authors and nurture writers’ literary careers long term. I have always said that if I ever decided to get back to being an agent, my dream would be to do so at […]
CBS Files Suit to Block Interference from Shari Redstone, Dilute Her Voting Power
CBS has gone to war with their controlling owner, Shari Redstone at National Amusements, asking the Delaware Chancery Court for a temporary restraining order while the company considers a move that would dilute Redstone’s voting control. CBS has called a special board meeting for Thursday, May 17, and asks the court “to prevent any action to interfere with that meeting or the effectiveness of actions taken at the meeting.” The broadcaster’s special committee, formed to evaluate Redstone’s desire to have CBS merge with Viacom, has recommended the “issuance of a stock dividend that would dilute NAI’s voting power… from 80 […]
Publisher Peter Mayer Dies
Renowned publisher Peter Mayer, 82, has died. Penguin Random House said in a brief statement, “We are deeply saddened by the passing of our forever colleague Peter Mayer, one of the towering giants of trade publishing, whose long and brilliant leadership of Penguin will always be part of the DNA of Penguin Random House.” President of The Overlook Press, which he founded with his father in 1971, Mayer was best known for his long tenure as ceo of Penguin Books, from 1978 to 1996. Prior to that, he was publisher and president at Pocket Books, and spent 14 years at […]
Harassment Files: Diaz Steps Down As Pulitzer Chair, As Board Investigates; More from Naffis-Sahely
Following recent allegations, Pulitzer Prize board administrator Dana Canedy released a statement about Junot Diaz, who had been elected chairman at the April meeting. The board is conducting “an independent review of allegations of misconduct” and in the meantime, Diaz has “asked to relinquish” his role as chairman, though he remains on the board. The full statement: “The Pulitzer Prize Board has authorized an independent review of allegations of misconduct against one of its own members, Junot Diaz. Mr. Diaz said he welcomed the review and would cooperate fully with it. Mr. Diaz was elected incoming chairman at the board’s […]
Harper Gains In Third Quarter
News Corp. reported fiscal third quarter results on Thursday afternoon, with HarperCollins showing gains in sales and earnings. Sales grew $24 million, or 6 percent, to $398 million (almost back to the $402 million they registered in fiscal 2015). Foreign exchange accounted for $10 million of the gain, and digital sales grew in line with overall sales, thanks to digital audio, still comprising 22 percent of consumer revenues. EBITDA of $43 million was up $6 million. The company cited “higher sales in general and Christian publishing…and the continued strength of backlist titles such as The Subtle Art of Not Giving […]