NYT bestselling suspense novelist Mary Higgins Clark died Friday of natural causes at 92 in Naples, FL. Simon & Schuster ceo Carolyn Reidy wrote: “It is impossible to overestimate the importance of Mary’s contribution to our success, and her role in the modern history of Simon & Schuster. Beginning in 1975 with the publication of WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN, each of her 56 books has been a bestseller. There are more than 100 million copies of her books in print in the United States; they are international bestsellers and have been translated into every major and many less well-known languages. […]
Archives for January 2020
People, Etc.
Marta Martínez has been promoted to chair and ceo of Hachette Spain. She joined the company in May 2019, after serving as ceo and regional director for Spain and Western Europe at Macmillan Education and Springer Nature. She takes over from José Manuel Gómez Rodríguez, who retired at the end of 2019 after 44 years at Groupe Anaya. Additionally, Javier Cazaña joined Hachette Spain as strategy and business development director. Beth Clark has been named vp and senior creative director, Farrar, Straus Children’s, Roaring Brook Press, Henry Holt Children’s, Feiwel and Friends, Swoon Reads, and Square Fish. YA and middle […]
Jeffrey Archer Sues Curtis Brown UK For Alleged Underpayments, Breach of Duty
Earlier this month, author Jeffrey Archer filed suit in London’s High Court against his former literary agency, Curtis Brown UK, claiming they owe him £538,486 in alleged underpayments since they began representing him in 2002, plus interest on those funds of over £250,000. Archer also seeks damages for breach of duty, and a formal declaration that his representation by Curtis Brown UK ended last March. The Evening Standard ran the first report on the case six days ago. Archer’s attorney James Ramsden QC tells the court the issue was first discovered during a 2018 audit by Mitchell Rights Management. He […]
People, Etc.
Florian Illies, publisher of Rowohlt in Germany, will step down “at his own request…at some later point this year.” Illies became publisher in January 2019, following the dismissal of publisher Barbara Laugwitz the previous August, a controversial selection at the time. Nicola Bartels will succeed him as publisher starting July 1. Bartels was most recently publisher at Random House Germany. Illies said in a statement, “I am leaving Rowohlt for personal reasons and I’ll do so with a heavy heart. After careful consideration, I have decided it is the time for a new beginning and to dedicate myself to my […]
Briefs: Bookselling, Business and February Picks
Michael Whyte, owner of Whyte’s Booksmith in San Anselmo, CA is looking for a buyer for his store. Whyte stipulates that he will only sell to a buyer who “who will continue to operate the shop as-is.” The bookstore has been in operation for 39 years. The ABA reports that 111 new independent bookstores joined the organization in 2019, up from 99 in 2018. They write, “The new stores include a romance bookstore, a veteran-owned bookstore, a youth-based bookstore, a bookmobile, and 20 branches of existing businesses. In addition, 25 established ABA member stores were bought by new owners; in […]
The Missing Piece: Three Days Before Bolton Leak, White House Said the Manuscript Contained Top Secret Information
On January 23, three days before the NYT reported on stories said to appear in John Bolton’s book manuscript (and three days before Simon & Schuster’s metadata describing the book, showing the jacket and offering it for pre-order started appearing online), the National Security Council wrote to Bolton’s attorney that they had problems with the manuscript. Senior director for records, access and information security management Ellen Knight wrote to attorney Charles Cooper, as reported by Insider, “The manuscript appears to contain significant amounts of classified information. It also appears that some of this classified information is at the TOP SECRET […]