A copyright infringement lawsuit filed against THE ART OF FIELDING author Chad Harbach by Charles Green has been dismissed. Green’s suit, filed last year, claimed Harbach pilfered portions of his unpublished novel BUCKY’S 9TH. But in a 13-page order, Southern District of New York federal judge Alvin Hellerstein ruled that any similarities between the two novels “were trivial details…not copyrightable abstract ideas, or, when understood in context, not actually similar.” While “both works are about a struggling Division III baseball college team, and both works track the baseball team’s changed fortunes after the arrival of a new player…that is the […]
Archives for July 2018
People
Powell’s Books ceo Miriam Sontz will retire in January 19, six years after her promotion. Powell’s president and owner Emily Powell and coo John Kingsbury will lead the company once Sontz, who spent more than 34 years with the company, departs. In a statement, Powell thanked Sontz “for her vision and leadership. Her particular impact on Powell’s trajectory may be invisible to many, especially outside of our walls, and yet we would not be Powell’s without her. She leaves us in a strong position for continued success.” Jenny Brown will leave Random House Children’s Books, where she was vp, publisher […]
People, Etc.
Taneli Ruda has joined Wiley as evp, chief strategy officer, where he will help to define and accelerate the next phase of the company’s growth. Ruda most recently served as head of corporate strategy at Thomson Reuters, with responsibility for defining the company’s portfolio and growth strategies, and driving company-wide M&A. “Taneli is an exceptional talent, and I am excited to welcome him to Wiley,” Wiley president & ceo Brian Napack said in the announcement. “He has extensive experience identifying robust and sustainable growth strategies for global organizations. Taneli’s innovative thinking and ability to translate complex strategies into action will […]
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Longtime Washington Post Book World editor Ron Charles is transitioning into a “redefined job” at the paper. He writes: “No more editing! From now on, I just get to write about books for the paper. After assigning and editing reviews every day for more than 20 years, I feel like that old tiger finally released from his cage who just keeps walking back and forth where the bars used to be. . . . Friends tell me I’ll get the hang of it.” Succeeding Charles as Book World editor is Stephanie Merry, who was previously a culture reporter for the […]
People, Etc.
Haley Swanson has joined Harper and Harper Wave as assistant editor. She was an editorial assistant at Viking. KF Literary Scouting has been appointed YA and children’s scout for Record in Brazil and Urano in Spain and Latin America. Imprints Penguin Random House UK is launching a new imprint with English rapper Stormzy called #Merky Books. The imprint will be a partnership with William Heinemann, and publish two to three titles a year across fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. The first title will be Stormzy’s own book Rise Up, planned for this November. Susan Sandon, managing director of Cornerstone at Penguin Random House UK, said: “Stormzy is an artist […]
Barnes & Noble Fires CEO Parneros, and More
Barnes & Noble announced Tuesday afternoon that it has fired ceo Demos Parneros “for violations of the company’s policies.” The statement says the “termination is not due to any disagreement with the company regarding its financial reporting, policies or practices or any potential fraud.” The board was advised by law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in the matter. In another sign of the severity of Parneros’s violations, he will not receive any severance payment. Parneros’s contract provides a relatively small set of circumstances that can constitute cause for dismissal, suggesting that the issue relates to: “dishonesty, embezzlement, misappropriation, moral […]