Chad Zimmerman has joined the University of Chicago Press as executive editor for economics, business, and public policy. He was previously at Oxford University Press, where he built OUP’s list in public health. Joseph Calamia has joined the University of Chicago Press as senior editor for the sciences. He was previously at Yale University Press.
At Laurence King Publishing, Alex Coumbis has been promoted to publicity manager. Anastasia Scott has been promoted to marketing and publicity manager.
Morgan Baden will join Gotham Ghostwriters as creative director. Baden was previously at Scholastic for 11 years, most recently as vice president of corporate communications, before becoming a freelance writer and communications consultant in 2019.
Eryn Kalavsky has joined Salky Literary Management as agent.
Sarah Caro will join the newly created UK arm of Basic Books as as publishing director, starting in April and reporting to John Murray Press managing director Nick Davies. She is currently global editorial director at Princeton University Press UK.
Co-executive director of AWP Diane Zinna announced on Twitter that she resigned from the organization: “I am broken-hearted, but I resigned from AWP this morning over the decision to hold the conference. I will always love this community and ask that you please be kind to the board and tiny staff, people who are working so hard and believe in you.”
AWP replied with their own statement, which begins: “It is with great sadness that we report the resignation of Diane Zinna from AWP. We are so grateful for Diane’s creativity and vision, as seen in programs such as Writer to Writer and #WritersServe. We regret her decision to leave the organization and wish her all the best in the future.”
Bookselling
McNally Jackson‘s new fourth location in downtown Brooklyn opened on Friday in the City Point development off Albee Square.
Bloomberg Businessweek dubs Barnes & Noble “the cockroach after the catastrophe” in a generally standard piece on efforts by James Daunt and Elliott Advisors to rejuvenate the chain. As we have said for some time, the number that matters the most is how much Elliott is willing to invest/lose before seeing a return. Daunt says, “Ultimately it’s going to cost an immense amount,” Daunt says. The article add,s “If the return justifies his early initiatives, the total amount spent on renovating the branches will surpass $100 million.”
He claims to be aiming to expand the store base to about 1,500 shops – or more than double the current footprint (and that would cost in the billions).Meanwhile, the only insight from Paul Best, who oversees the B&N and Waterstones investments at Elliott Advisors, is this: “I’m not emotionally attached to the business. I like bookshops. I like being in bookshops. I buy books in bookshops and, in so doing, I noticed there were a lot of other people in the bookshops I was in.”
Imprints
Delacorte Press is launching a young adult paperback imprint called Underlined, which will “release monthly in both print and electronic formats…a mix of thriller, romance, and horror.” Senior executive editor Wendy Loggia will lead the imprint, with the first four titles publishing between May and August 2020. Beverly Horowitz, senior vice president & publisher of Delacorte, said in the release, “Watching how our streaming culture has increased the expectation for fast delivery of content, we wanted to reach teens in a similar way. Our new line of Underlined books will be published on a rapid, regular schedule, delivering highly-commercial, portable, and affordable reads under the recognizable and trusted Underlined brand.”
Awards
The PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction announced its shortlist, with the winners to be announced on April 6:
Sea Monsters, by Chloe Arijdis (Catapult)
Where Reasons End, by Yiyun Li (Random House)
Night Swimmers, by Peter Rock (Soho Press)
We Cast a Shadow, by Maurice Carlos Ruffin (One World)
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, by Ocean Vuong (Penguin Press)
Community
Ingram Content Group ceo Shawn Morin issued this statement: “Devastating tornadoes passed through Middle Tennessee overnight causing considerable damage to communities across our state. Our heart goes out to all those affected by the storms, especially our associates and their families. While our headquarters and facilities did not sustain damage, this is our hometown and we share the community’s devastation over the damage and are committed to doing all we can in the days that follow as Middle Tennessee recovers and rebuilds.”
Grants
Author Celeste Ng has provided a grant to We Need Diverse Books that will support summer interns from diverse backgrounds working in adult publishing for at least 5 years, beginning in summer 2021.