On August 5, TheaterWorks in Hartford, CT will debut Secondo, a sequel to the play I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti by Jacques Lamarre, adapted from the memoir by former publishing professional Giulia Melucci. Currently vp of marketing and communications at Harper’s Magazine, Mellucci and Lamarre dedicate Secondo to the late Vintage Anchor vp Russell Perreault, who introduced them when Lamarre was working on the play adaptation of Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking.
People 8/3
Former director of film/TV at Franklin & Siegal Erin Hennicke has started her own agency, BookSmart Literary Scouting.
Agencies: YMU Launches U.S. Books Division
Talent management company YMU has launched a books arm in the U.S., led by Aram Fox. Fox comes from Aram Fox Literary Scouting, which represented international publishers and US film companies. The U.S. opening follows that of a literary division in the UK, headed by global managing director, literary Amanda Harris, which “has grown exponentially over the last two years” according to a release. Based in New York, Fox will report to Harris and represent YMU’s clients–including music, entertainment, sports, social, and arts talent–in North America, and sign new clients.
Pande Testimony Supports Both Sides
Ayesha Pande at Ayesha Pande Literary is one of the few literary agents that the DOJ will be calling to testify directly at length in the A3 trial, but when her appearance concluded on Tuesday morning, it left some people wondering how her evidence supports the case against the merger. She did ratify the government’s argument that the big five are unto themselves in terms of their ability to consistently pay big advances and bring to bear best-in-breed marketing, publicity and sales clout. Pande noted that even for her authors who have published successfully with a smaller, independent house, “it […]
New Books Publishing August 2
Stuart Woods and Sarah Thankam Mathews lead this week’s fiction releases, nonfiction includes new work from Lynne Tillman and Robert Lowell, and Jennifer Lynn Barnes and Mason Deaver publish new YA titles this month. Also out this week are novels by Mohsin Hamid and Marianne Wiggins, both excerpted in our Buzz Books 2022: Spring/Summer sampler. 32 works of fiction https://bookshop.org/lists/new-fiction-publishing-august-2 https://shop.aer.io/publishers_lunch/cl/New_Fiction_Publishing_August_/223955 14 nonfiction titles https://bookshop.org/lists/new-nonfiction-publishing-august-2 https://shop.aer.io/publishers_lunch/cl/New_Fiction_Publishing_August_/223955 26 children’s titles https://bookshop.org/lists/new-children-s-titles-publishing-in-august https://shop.aer.io/publishers_lunch/cl/New_Childrens_Titles_Publishing_in_August/223954 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 […]
Adult Hardcovers Fell 19% in May
The Association of American Publishers released StatShot data for May from their participating publishers. Trade sales were $610.6 million, down 4 percent from $639.3 million last year. For comparison, total sales according to the last pre-pandemic report in 2019 were $633 million. Adult book sales were $406.7 million, a (7.7) percent decline compared to $440.5 million in May 2021. Hardcover sales were $121.8 million [down (19) percent], paperbacks were $140.2 million [up 3 percent], and mass markets were $10.2 million [down (47) percent]. Children’s sales were $203.9 million, a 3 percent increase from $198.8 million last year. Hardcovers sold $68.4 […]