The National Book Foundation announced the longlist for its inaugural National Book Award for Translated Literature. Titles in contention include eight novels, one story collection, and one work of nonfiction. The candidates were originally published in nine languages including French, Spanish, Arabic, Tamil, Norwegian, Italian, Japanese, Polish, and Russian. Negar Djavadi, Disoriental, Translated by Tina Kover (Europa Editions) Roque Larraquy, Comemadre, Translated by Heather Cleary (Coffee House Press) Dunya Mikhail, The Beekeeper, Translated by Dunya Mikhail and Max Weiss (New Directions Publishing) Perumal Murugan, One Part Woman, Translated by Aniruddhan Vasudevan (Black Cat) Hanne Orstavik, Love, Translated by Martin Aitken […]
Archives for September 2018
S&S Reports FEAR Sold Over 750,000 Units On Opening Day
Simon & Schuster announced big opening day sales for Bob Woodward’s FEAR, saying it sold “more than 750,000” units across all formats. Pre-orders “were the largest for any title in Simon & Schuster company history.” Another reprint was ordered Tuesday, which will give them 1.15 million copies in print. S&S president and publisher Jonathan Karp said in the announcement, “Bob Woodward’s FEAR is selling with the force of a cultural phenomenon, in extraordinary numbers across the board, in hardcover, ebook, and audio editions. Based on immense pre-publication and ongoing interest, the reading public clearly has an enormous appetite for what we […]
EU Parliament Vote Moves Controversial Copyright Law Forward
The EU Parliament passed the Copyright Directive, containing two controversial provisions intended to ensure publishers and content creators get paid when their content is shared on internet platforms such as Facebook, Google, and YouTube. While the vote is significant, particularly considering that Parliament rejected a different version in July — it’s far from final. As the Guardian and others report, the law will now go to three-way negotiations with the European Commission and the Council of the European Union. The European Parliament will vote one final time in January. Article 11 (referred to as the “link tax”) allows publishers to […]
NBA Longlists Begin With Young People’s Literature
The National Book Awards longlists roll out Wednesday through Friday this week, with the finalists to be announced on October 10. Winners will be named on November 14. First up is Young People’s Literature, which includes previous nominee Elizabeth Partridge, as well as M.T. Anderson, who won the prize in 2006 for The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing. Of the ten titles, four were published by HarperCollins, and three by Penguin Random House. The full list: Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X (Harper Teen) M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin, The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge (Candlewick Press) Bryan Bliss, We’ll Fly Away (Greenwillow Books) Leslie Connor, […]
Strong Opening Demand for Woodward’s FEAR
On Monday Simon & Schuster said they had gone back to press six times for one million hardcover copies of Bob Woodward’s FEAR about of Tuesday’s release, but inventory already looks tight after a strong first day on sale. Barnes & Noble reports that the book recorded the fastest sales for an adult title for them since the big release of Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman in July 2015. (That book has held the chain’s record for the biggest one-day sale for an adult trade book.) Senior director of merchandising at Barnes & Noble Liz Harwell said Wednesday, “Fear […]
People, Etc.
At Penguin Random House, deputy chief financial officer James Johnston has been promoted to global chief financial officer, reporting to ceo Markus Dohle. He fills officially the position vacated when Milena Alberti left the company at the end of 2017, after leading the finance group on an interim basis. Dohle writes, “With 28 years of experience at our company, Jim has been a significant and valued contributor to the development and success of Random House and Penguin Random House…. Simply stated, Jim understands inside and out how our company ticks and works, and he consistently demonstrates a considered pragmatism, natural […]