In the great tradition of NYT stories asking if a given place can possibly be saved, the business section offers a bizarre piece about the Fox News hellscape that is Portland, OR — where smoke from forest fires “pervad[ed] a near-biblical sense of doom.” With efforts to recover at Powell’s Books the vague focus, the story suggests that they are talking broadly about life and bookstores in America: “How will brick-and-mortar stores fare in a time of continued fear over a deadly, airborne plague? What happens to city life when sidewalks are strewn with the rain-soaked belongings of people who […]
Archives for 2021
People 11/9
Graywolf Press director and publisher Fiona McCrae will retire in June 2022, after 27 years in the position.
Alternate Realities: When Penguin Bought Random House, and Big Authors Got Royalties
It could be a while before we know the outcome of the DOJ’s lawsuit to block Penguin Random House’s acquisition of Simon & Schuster, but the action is already resulting in a bull market for clueless reporting and commentary. From Bloomberg, we get an “analysis” from someone so well versed in publishing they think Penguin acquired Random House (I guess because their name is first?): “Admittedly, it doesn’t look like Penguin’s previous acquisition of Random House harmed the market at all.” The author also fails to understand that Simon & Schuster UK is a relatively small operation and was never […]
Obituary: Shannon Orso
Victress Literary founder Shannon Orso, 41, died on September 25. Senior agent Lizz Nagle wrote, “She was our fierce defender, our best friend, our neon light. Victress exists because of her vision. It grew because of her heart.”
Imprints: Anna Todd’s Wattpad Line
AFTER author Anna Todd has launched an imprint, Frayed Pages x Wattpad Books. The imprint is the first to launch under the Wattpad Webtoon Book Group and will publish Todd’s books going forward, starting with three titles in 2022, as well as “books by established and emerging writers of commercial fiction.” A release states that “Todd will be involved in every aspect of publication for books published by Frayed Pages x Wattpad Books, from acquisition to launch and promotion” in partnership with consulting publisher Anne Messitte (she’s also consulting publisher at Zibby Books). Messitte will “guide publishing strategy for the […]
New Books Publishing November 9
Louise Erdrich, Ken Follett and John Edgar Wideman lead this week’s fiction releases, while nonfiction includes titles by Will Smith, Emily Ratajkowski and David Graeber and David Wengrow. Also out today is Marc Myers’s Rock Concert, excerpted in our Buzz Books 2021: Fall/Winter sampler. 14 new works of fiction https://bookshop.org/lists/new-fiction-publishing-november-9 https://shop.aer.io/publishers_lunch/cl/New_Fiction_Publishing_November_/220337 23 new nonfiction titles https://bookshop.org/lists/new-nonfiction-publishing-november-9 https://shop.aer.io/publishers_lunch/cl/New_Nonfiction_Publishing_November_/220338 We consult a number of sources in compiling our weekly lists and PM members can see our lists for the coming three months through this reference page. But if you want to make sure your key titles are on our radar, now you can use […]