Paul Baggaley will leave Picador after 11 years as publisher to become editor-in-chief for adult publishing at Bloomsbury UK early 2020, reporting to Emma Hopkin. Current EIC Alexandra Pringle will move up to executive publisher.
Caitlin Meyer has been promoted to associate publicity director at Beacon Press.
Catherine Cho will join the Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency as an agent later this month. She was at Curtis Brown UK.
Agency News
Aevitas Creative Management has expanded, launching a UK office, with Toby Mundy as chairman and ceo of ACM UK Ltd. Four agents have joined the group: Natalie Jerome, Max Edwards, Trevor Dolby, and writer and media consultant Simon Targett. ACM UK translation rights will be handled by Susanna Lea Associates, as Abner Stein continues to handle UK rights for ACM US, and the current co-agents for ACM US will continue handling translation rights.
Managing partners David Kuhn, Todd Shuster, and Esmond Harmsworth say in the announcement: “We knew from the moment we began discussions with Toby and our other new UK colleagues that his and their taste, values, and commitment to quality books in all categories aligned perfectly with the lists of our US based agents. We are lucky that his ambitions for growth also aligned perfectly with our own ambitions to have a presence in the UK and the wider commonwealth market.” Mundy adds, “I’ve loved running Toby Mundy Associates for the last five years, but by being part of something larger, we will be able to offer our clients more. It’s a very exciting time.”
Booker
Grove/Atlantic’s Black Cat is moving up the US release date Bernardine Evaristo‘s Booker-winning Girl, Woman, Other from December 3 to November 5. The initial print run of 10,000 copies will be enhanced with a reprint of 50,000.
Bookselling
Ronan Farrow reports that some Australian booksellers — including Booktopia and Amazon Australia — gave in to National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard’s legal threats and have declined to sell CATCH AND KILL. He wrote, “I’m sorry to all the Australian readers to whom this story is important too. I hope you can import or buy from an independent bookseller, and avoid outlets that yield to these kinds of intimidation tactics.” Readers report that Apple and Google are still selling the digital versions in Australia.
In the US, Kinokuniya Books has opened their fourth Texas location in the Houston area.
Calendar Distribution
Abrams has an agreement under which Andrews McMeel Publishing will print and distribute their line of 40 calendars, beginning with the 2021 calendar season, publishing July 2020. Abrams will handle sales and returns of their current 2020 calendars until April 3, 2020. Abrams ceo Michael Jacobs says in the announcement, “Andrews McMeel is one of the leaders in calendar publishing, and we’re thrilled to be working with their expert team to expand our existing Abrams market presence. We’re excited to enter into new sales channels and to grow the Abrams calendar business.”
Film/TV
In a press release Netflix announced they will develop a dramedy series in Swedish based on Fredrik Backman‘s latest novel ANXIOUS PEOPLE, due again from Atria but not yet announced for publication. At a session Wednesday afternoon at the Frankfurt Book Fair, Netflix vp of international originals Kelly Luegenbiehl also noted development deals for Elif Shafak‘s The Forty Rules of Love and Tyll, a new German Netflix series is based on Daniel Kehlmann‘s TYLL, coming in translation on February 2020 from Pantheon.
Imprints
In the UK, Serpent’s Tail will launch a crime imprint, Viper, led by senior commissioning editor Miranda Jewess. Starting in February 2020, they plan on 20 titles a year.
Expansion
PEN America announced the launch of six new regional chapters across the US, to “bring years of mobilization, activism and organizing among writing communities across the country to the next level.” The new branches are in Austin, TX (led by author Chaitali Sen and head of the Austin Public Library Foundation Tim Staley); Birmingham, AL (led by poets Ashley M. Jones and Alina Stefanescu); Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (led by novelist Sanderia Faye and Deep Vellum publisher and bookstore owner Will Evans); Detroit, MI (under writers Amber Ogden and Jonah Mixon-Webster.); In North Carolina/Piedmont Region (led by writer and performer Deonna Kelli Sayed); and in Tulsa, OK (under founder and executive director of the Tulsa Literary Coalition and Magic City Books Jeff Martin).
Libraries
In reaction to Macmillan‘s new policy of limiting sales of new-release ebooks to public libraries in the first two months of publication, Washington’s King Country Library System is taking a firm stand by…doing exactly what Macmillan has preferred. PW reports on a note from executive director Lisa Rosenblum saying, “KCLS will no longer purchase ebooks from Macmillan.” But they will continue to purchase Macmillan’s print books, audiobooks, and perhaps even more copies/licenses of their previously-published ebooks.