Waterstones’ managing director James Daunt is adorably, irresistibly quotable at every turn, and this Times profile does not disappoint. “I would rather there was no Waterstones” he says at the top of the piece. He would prefer “lots of nice independents, prospering up and down the high streets. I genuinely believe that. But there can’t be and will never be because it is very difficult to run independent bookshops. They can’t survive; you need the structures and efficiencies of chains.” But the chains have their own problems, in his view. “All chain booksellers in the world right now have got it […]
Archives for November 2018
People, Etc.
Naomi Gibbs has been promoted to senior editor at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Richard Rhorer has been promoted to vp and deputy publisher of the Simon & Schuster Publishing Group. At Westwood Creative Artists, Meg Wheeler has been promoted to associate agent, representing writers of literary and commercial fiction as well as non-fiction. She will continue to assist Bruce Westwood and act as rights associate under WCA’s international rights director Carolyn Forde. Forthcoming An early galley for Leslie Jamison‘s collection of essays Make It Scream, Make It Burn — named for this 2013 essay in the Oxford American, and publishing in October 2019 […]
For the Record: Riggios Gave More Shares to Foundation
An amended 13D filing with the SEC indicates that Barnes & Noble executive chairman Len Riggio and his wife Louise gave 2.8 million shares of stock in the bookseller to The Riggio Foundation in 2017. (A year-end gift of 1.45 million shares came weeks after Riggio purchased a million shares in the company personally.) The foundation holds close to 6 million shares of Barnes & Noble stock now (8.1 percent of shares outstanding), out a total stake for the Riggios of just over 14 million shares, or 19.2 percent of the common stock. The filing also reiterates the situation regarding […]
People, Etc.
James Jayo has joined Penguin as senior editor. Previously, he was at Sterling. Two longtime Penguin Random House sales executives will retire soon. VP, group sales director, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group Janet Cooke will leave at the end of the year, and Christopher Dufault is being promoted to that position. SVP, director of adult hardcover sales, Penguin Publishing Group John Lawton is retiring in the spring (having worked for Penguin since 1996), and vp, group sales director Lauren Monaco will expand her oversight to all of the division’s imprints. Additionally, Cynthia Lasky is formally named svp, group sales director for the newly-combined […]
Briefs: MWA Names Grand Masters, More Best Book Lists
Awards The Mystery Writers of America named authors Linda Fairstein and Martin Cruz Smith as the 2019 Grand Masters. Marilyn Stasio, the mystery critic for the NYTBR since 1988,will receive the Raven Award for “achievement in the mystery field outside the realm of creative writing.” The Ellery Queen Award honoring “outstanding writing teams and outstanding people in the mystery-publishing industry will go to Linda Landrigan for her work as the editor of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. Honorees will be recognized at the Edgar Awards Banquet on April 25. Best of NPR has brought back its Book Concierge, featuring 319 titles. The Oregonian chose 19 titles as the best of […]
People, Etc.
At Doubleday, Margo Shickmanter has been promoted to editor. Tara Feehan will join Harper Children’s as vp, finance and administration, moving over from the operations & technology finance team, and reporting to Suzanne Murphy. Feehan succeeds Randy Rosema who will retire in January. Shari Black has joined Harper Christian as senior director of marketing for the specialty publishing division. She previously worked in account sales and marketing for Warner Bros. Entertainment, The Walt Disney Company, and Walmart. At Workman Publishing, Constance Edmonds has been promoted to promotion coordinator across all imprints. Ashley McPhee joins as promotion coordinator for the Workman imprint. She was previous a […]