Quarto Group CEO Alison Goff will step down from her position at the end of the year “due to personal reasons.” She will serve thereafter as an advisor to the board. Goff says in the announcement, “I’ve very much enjoyed my 3 years at Quarto and I hope I have been a catalyst for change.” Controlling owner CK Lau will once again serve as interim CEO starting November 1. Quarto went private in late 2023, with Lau joined by lead minority investor Andrea Giunti Lombardo. At the time, they noted: “In the short term, the company anticipates that revenue will […]
Archives for October 2024
People 10/21
2022 and 2023 National Humanities Medals
Today, President Biden will present the 2022 and 2023 National Humanities Medals to several writers: Joy Harjo, Juan Felipe Herrera, Jon Meacham, Anthony Bourdain (posthumous), LeVar Burton, Roz Chast, and Robin Wall Kimmerer.
Frankfurt Reports Higher Attendance
As the Frankfurt Book Fair wound down, the fair announced that attendance was up by 9 percent for the three trade-focused days of the event, October 16-18. They estimate 114,000 total badge scans–many of whom were likely the same people returning to the Messe day after day–for an average of 38,000 attendees each day. The organization reported 105,000 badge scans for the same three days in 2023, (up from 93,000 in 2022). On the ground, many attendees felt that the fair was the busiest it had been since the pandemic. According to Fair administration, there were 4,300 exhibitors this year, […]
Imprints: OverDrive Launches Heights Press
OverDrive has launched a new imprint called Heights Press, “inspired by the vibrant creativity and community spirit of Cleveland Heights, Ohio.” Its first titles are the Hickory Hollow books, a six-book series for middle-grade readers. Each book in the series will be initially available in ebook format, with digital audio versions to follow, available exclusively for public libraries and schools. At launch the books will be published in English, Chinese, German, Vietnamese, and Korean. “Our goal is to provide all educators and librarians with fresh, original content that entertains while fostering a love for reading and exploration,” said OverDrive vp, […]
Call for Spring/Summer Season Preview Listings
Our forthcoming Buzz Books 2025: Spring/Summer sampler will include, as usual, extensive seasonal preview listings of notable titles on the way. We compile these big roundups by looking at publisher catalogs; our own comprehensive monthly lists of significant forthcoming books; hints from our substantial flow of deal reports; aggregation of “anticipated books” lists from other publications; word-of-mouth within the industry; and more. If you have notable spring/summer titles you would like to have considered for the preview list — particularly ones you are concerned we might have missed from the regular signals, along with drop-ins and rescheduled releases — now is […]