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People, Etc.

June 12, 2020
By Erin Somers

Michael C. Wright will lead the college department at Norton, succeeding the longtime director, Roby Harrington, who will continue at Norton in his role as vice chairman. Norton president Julia Reidhead said in the release, “Few generational milestones can be more significant to Norton’s future than the hand-off of College Department leadership. Michael Wright has overseen dramatic growth and transformation during his tenure as Director of College Sales and previously enjoyed great success as an editor and marketer. His appointment assures us that College leadership will go from strength to strength.”

Brad Schwartz joins Audible June 15 as chief content officer, reporting to ceo Bob Carrigan, who says: “As Audible continues to expand its focus on premium audio storytelling and entertainment across all formats and genres, Brad’s highly successful track record, expertise and stellar relationships in the entertainment community will be integral to our aggressive content efforts and plans. Schwartz was president of Pop TV.

Amy Collins has joined Talcott Notch Literary Services as an associate literary agent and director of foreign rights. She is an author and former president at NewShelves.
Literary agent Laura Zats, who previously worked for Red Sofa Literary, also reported receiving a cease and desist letter from Dawn Frederick‘s attorney for retweeting posts critical of Frederick.

Bookselling
Booksellers Bethany Strout and Ashley Lyons resigned from The Tattered Cover after owners made a controversial statement regarding Black Lives Matter and “not engaging in public debate” (which was followed by a posted apology and change in position). Strout posted on Twitter on Wednesday, “The statement the owners sent out was so far in opposition to my understanding of the work we’re doing as a bookstore, and disregarded the voices of staff in such an egregious way, I couldn’t personally see a path forward at the store.”

The Word, an organization focused on creating a diverse publishing community, issued an open letter to The Tattered Cover, in conjunction with Black and other POC writers, booksellers, educators, and other leaders/community members: “We write to insist that Tattered Cover take immediate actions necessary to its responsible participation in our community.” Suggested actions include specific goals for increased hiring and retention of individuals from marginalized backgrounds; a plan to ensure the work environment is safe for people of marginalized backgrounds; increased representation among titles in the store; and more.

“We insist on clear articulation of Tattered Cover’s plans and response to the above stated action-items within 30 days of this letter,” they conclude. “Until that response is received, the undersigned individuals and organizations will not pursue purchases or partnerships with Tattered Cover.”

Forthcoming
Simon & Schuster has released an additional promotional description of John Bolton‘s forthcoming THE ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENED, perhaps designed to provoke a response on Twitter. His “substantive and factual account of the period from April 9, 2018 to September 10, 2019, when he had nearly daily communications with the President” will include such topics as “the President’s inconsistent, scattershot decision-making process….What Bolton saw astonished him: a president for whom getting reelected was the only thing that mattered, even if it meant endangering or weakening the nation. ‘I am hard-pressed to identify any significant Trump decision during my tenure that wasn’t driven by reelection calculations,’ he writes.”

And Bolton criticizes the impeachment proceedings to which he did not contribute as too narrow: “In fact, he argues that the House committed impeachment malpractice by keeping their prosecution focused narrowly on Ukraine when Trump’s Ukraine-like transgressions existed across the full range of his foreign policy—and Bolton documents exactly what those were, and attempts by him and others in the Administration to raise alarms about them.”

The release also asserts that “Trump directed the seizure of and withheld his personal and other unclassified documents, despite numerous requests for their return.”

Benefits
The Authors Guild noted in a recent press release that The Book Industry Health Insurance Partnership, a coalition of 10 organizations, has partnered with Lighthouse Insurance Group Solutions to “provide its members with a choice of health insurance options, including ACA-compliant major medical, Medicare/supplements, short-term policies, vision, dental, critical care, supplemental coverage, as well as small group/Health Reimbursement Arrangements.” Notably, LIG “can sell insurance from many insurance companies in all 50 states.” The coalition also includes the American Booksellers Association, American Society for Indexing, Book Industry Study Group, Graphic Artists Guild, Independent Book Publishers Association, Novelists Inc., Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and Western Writers of America.

Filed Under: Bookstores, Free, Personnel

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