Zareen Jaffery will join Kokila as executive editor on January 13. She was previously executive editor at Simon & Schuster Children’s. Rachel Beck has joined Liza Dawson Associates as agent. She was previously an agent with Holloway Literary. Emily Duval has been promoted to manager, library marketing at Random House Children’s. Natalie Capogrossi has joined Random House Children’s as assistant manager, school marketing. She was previously a teacher and intern at Writer’s House. At, Princeton Architectural Press, Jessica Tackett has been promoted to marketing manager; Parker Menzimer has been promoted to production editor; Stephanie Holstein has been promoted to associate […]
Book Culture’s UWS Store Seized by City Marshal
The complicated status of Book Culture‘s store on Columbus Avenue, co-owned by Book Culture owner Chris Doeblin and 40-percent partner John “Rick” MacArthur, has come to an unfortunate point: The City Marshal seized the store, which is now closed, as the landlord moves to recover the premises and evict the store for unpaid back rent. Doeblin posted on Facebook, “Our beloved store on Columbus was seized today unexpectedly, by our landlord. I mistakenly believed that action was retracted after paying our rent the last 5 months and cutting our arrears by $35k in December.” He said in an email to […]
Remember December: How Did They Pick?
Here is our monthly recap of high-profile retailer and book club picks from December, paired with print sales statistics from NPD Bookscan for the four weeks on sale ending December 28. But the results are a bit sparse this time, since three sources all selected a book that did not actually publish December 31 — Such a Fun Age, by Kiley Reid — so there are no published sales reports to share yet. (The standing reminder: These statistics are only a partial view, of print sales only. Some of these books were highly anticipated — and well pre-ordered — long […]
Wiley Buys Tech Training and Placement Firm mthree for $129 Million
Wiley announced Monday that it acquired UK-based education services provider mthree for $129 million (£98 million) in cash on January 1. mthree finds, trains and places technology talent. The company expects to record 2019 sales of over $50 million, which would reflect annual growth of 20 percent. Wiley ceo Brian Napack says in the announcement, “Wiley is committed to bridging the gap between education output and industry need. The acquisition of mthree advances Wiley’s leadership in powering the high-demand, high-potential careers that are fueling the global knowledge economy. CEO Alex Headley and his team have built a great company with […]
In Retrospect, Waterstones Says Flat Holiday Sales Were Better Than Expected
Now that the holiday is over James Daunt says that for Waterstones’ sales during the period, “I would have said it would have been down on last year” — an easy way of lowering the bar after the fact. When we spoke to him about the closing prospects for Barnes & Noble he thought the midweek Christmas would help give sales a solid finish, but for the UK he now says, “Christmas came later this year and every time it falls on a Wednesday you have to whack everything into the last four days. It was fine in the end, […]
Knopf Doubleday Chairman Sonny Mehta Dies at 77
Renowned chairman of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group and editor-in-chief of Knopf Sonny Mehta died on Monday, December 30 of complications from pneumonia. He was 77. Plans for a memorial service will be announced. The company said in a statement, “Mehta’s contributions to the world of letters and publishing are without precedent. His exacting standards – in editorial, production, design, marketing, and publicity – were a beacon to the book industry and beyond. He was a friend to writers, editors, and booksellers around the world. Mehta was also a gentleman, uniquely so, who cared deeply about his colleagues and the […]