Jenna Bush Hager chose Black Candle Women by Diane Marie Brown as the March pick for her Today Show Read With Jenna Book Club.
Archives for February 2023
People 2/28
Head of campaigns and associate publisher Karen Duffy has been laid off from Atlantic Books as of March 31. Duffy joined Atlantic as its first publicity director in 2004, and later added an acquiring editor's role as associate publisher. She became campaigns director in 2012. She said, "I have so loved working at Atlantic these past 19 years, helping it grow from a transatlantic offshoot of Grove Atlantic Inc. into one of the pillars of Britain’s independent publishing community."
Bertelsmann’s Setbacks Land at Rabe’s Feet
The FT has a long piece on Bertelsmann ceo Thomas Rabe as he “grapples with string of failed deals and staff unhappiness.” They lead: “Some staff at Europe’s biggest media group Bertelsmann have a cruel new nickname for its chief executive Thomas Rabe: ‘Rabenvater’ — raven father. The German term, a pun on Rabe’s surname, refers to a hard-hearted man who neglects his children.” The criticism comes following three uncompleted M&A deals — the most expensive of which was the blocked acquisition of Simon & Schuster — and was further inflamed by the severe cutbacks to Gruner + Jahr. “He […]
Distribution: Small Press Distribution to Close Warehouse, Expand Publisher Services
Small Press Distribution announced it will expand through “through key industry partnerships” with Ingram Content Group and Publishers Storage & Shipping, aiming to “provide new services that will increase market reach and lower costs for the nearly 400 presses that it distributes.” To fund the expansion, they are launching a crowdfunding campaign with a goal of $100,000. (During Covid, they had crowdfunded with a similar goal, raising over $90,ooo to help sustain the staff of 10 at the time.) SPD will close its 6,400-square-foot Berkeley warehouse as part of the changes, with Ingram and PSSC providing “pick, pack and ship […]
New Books Publishing February 28
C.J. Box and J K Chukwu lead this week’s fiction releases, while nonfiction includes Cristina Rivera Garza, Katherine May, and Alice Robb. 10 works of fiction https://bookshop.org/lists/new-fiction-publishing-february-28 14 nonfiction titles https://bookshop.org/lists/new-nonfiction-publishing-february-28 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 this form to submit brief details as well: publun.ch/submitNotable. Please submit your notable titles at least 3 months prior to pub date.
PRH Announces Reorganization, Creates Independent Crown Group Again
Penguin Random House announced a reorganization that will expand the number of adult publishing divisions from three to four, separating back out Crown Publishing Group from Random House Publishing Group. Interim ceo Nihar Malaviya writes, “Books and the people who make them are at the heart of what we do. Our editors’ ability to aggressively pursue the works they are most passionate about, and the autonomy and independence of our divisions and imprints, is what drives our business and ensures our success.” (Crown had been merged into the RH Group in late 2018.) Sanyu Dillon moves over to serve as president […]