Archives for December 2024
People 12/6
The Strand Union Strikes
Unionized booksellers at The Strand in New York went on strike starting Saturday, December 7. The union has been negotiating for a new contract since August and authorized a strike in November. The current contract expired on Thanksgiving, November 28 and the approximately 90 unionized employees have been working without a contract ever since. According to UAW Local 2179 representative Will Bobrowski, the parties will go back to the bargaining table at 10:30 AM today (Monday). The union is currently not picketing in front of the store, but is ready to go back to the picket line at any time […]
Distribution: Beetle Books
Lerner Publishing Group will distribute Beetle Books, an imprint of Hungry Tomato, in the US and Canada beginning January 2025. The rest of UK-based Hungry Tomato is already distributed by Lerner Publisher Services.
HBG to Encourage Pleasure Reading Among Kids in 2025
HBG and Hachette UK ceo David Shelley’s year-end letter focuses on concern over declines in pleasure reading by children. In response, “We’re launching a new venture next year which is relatively simple but hopefully will have some efficacy: Raising Readers, which is to include a page at the back of many of our black-and-white adult books, talking about the value of fostering a lifelong habit of reading for pleasure and tips on how to do so. Ideally, this letter would be signed by whoever created the book, either based on a template we’ll provide or in your own words.” He […]
The First of the Best of the Best Books of 2024
The lists are flowing and we are ready with the first iteration of our annual aggregations of the very best of the “best books of the year,” including votes from about 35 sources so far. This year the issue of the Book of the Year is already settled: Percival Everett’s JAMES, fresh from his National Book Award for Fiction, is far and away the consensus choice. Also, with Danzy Senna’s COLORED TELEVISION in contention for the top 10 works of fiction, Everett and Senna are our first-ever married couple to make the list together. As is standard for this time […]