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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 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 […]