Literary agent Ali Gunn of Gunn Media died in Switzerland of a brain hemorrhage, the Bookseller reports. They say she was found dead Thursday morning. One of her former colleagues at Curtis Brown UK Jonny Geller tells the magazine, “My colleagues are devastated because she was such a life force. She always had a glass of wine and a smile. She was full of color and devoted to her authors. The idea that this has happened so suddenly is really shocking.”
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt will expand their Best American Series with a science fiction and fantasy anthology, starting in October 2015. John Joseph Adams is the series editor and Joe Hill will be inaugural guest editor. Publisher Bruce Nichols says, “So many award winning and bestselling novels have been infused with science fiction and fantasy elements in recent years as have recent films and television series. It is perfect timing to add this subject area to our Best American series.”
In other forthcoming books, Chicago’s Loyola Press will publish Pope Francis‘s book THE CHURCH OF MERCY: My Vision for the Church in April. The recently-written collection combines speeches, essays and homilies. Editor Joe Durepos at the Jesuit-owned press says, “The mandate I got was: ‘Get the book,'” and he was the first bidder last month.