Kyle Gipson will join Basic Books on January 4 as associate editor. Most recently, he was an assistant acquisitions editor at Johns Hopkins University Press.
At Random House Children’s Joshua Redlich has been promoted to publicity manager. Aaron Reese has joined as a senior marketing manager, digital content. Previously, he was a freelance writer and editor. Vincent Perez has joined as a production associate. He was previously production coordinator at Marvel Entertainment.
Angelique Tran Van Sang will join Felicity Bryan Associates as an agent in March. She is currently commissioning editor at Bloomsbury UK.
The NYT rounds up some advance numbers for former president Barack Obama’s Tuesday release, A PROMISED LAND. From the 3.4 million hardcovers being printed for the US and Canada, 890,000 are going to ReaderLink for distribution for big box chains. Barnes & Noble has ordered about 500,000 copies, with ceo James Daunt saying, “We are taking as many as Penguin Random House will give us. If there was an unlimited supply, we would take more. I think we will end up selling an enormous number.” Among individual stores, Politics and Prose in Washington, DC has ordered 2,000 copies.
Separately, Libro.FM announced their 10 bestselling audio books of the year, and based on pre-orders the not-yet-released Obama audio version is already their No. 1 title.
Bookselling
River Oaks Bookstore in Houston, TX will close by the end of the year after 47 years in business.
Book People in Austin, TX is launching new monthly subscription services starting in January — Amplify and Amplify Jr. — that celebrate the work of BIPOC writers and creators.
Imprints
Yale University Press will publish a Black Lives series, comprising brief biographies of individuals of African descent who profoundly shaped history, starting in early 2022. The editorial board for the series includes Jacqueline Goldsby, David Blight, and Henry Louis Gates, Jr..