Harlan Coben, Eloghosa Osunde, and John Scalzi lead this week’s fiction releases, while nonfiction includes new work from Melissa Febos and Reshma Saujani. 23 works of fiction https://bookshop.org/lists/new-fiction-publishing-march-15 https://shop.aer.io/publishers_lunch/cl/New_Fiction_Publishing_March_/222353 8 nonfiction titles https://bookshop.org/lists/new-nonfiction-publishing-march-15 https://shop.aer.io/publishers_lunch/cl/New_Nonfiction_Publishing_March_/222354 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 to make sure your key titles are on our radar, now you can use this form to submit brief details as well: publun.ch/submitNotable. Please submit your notable titles at least 3 months prior to pub date.
Obituary: Maureen Howard
Novelist and memoirist Maureen Howard, 91, died in New York on Sunday. Her 1978 memoir, Facts of Life, won the National Book Critics Circle Award and her novels Grace Abounding, Expensive Habits, and Natural History were all finalists for the PEN/Faulkner Award. She also received a Guggenheim fellowship and an Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Canadian Government Allocates $32 Million to Support Online Bookselling
Minister of Canadian Heritage the Honorable Pablo Rodriguez announced The Support for Booksellers initiative, intended to help Canadian bookstores increase their ability to sell books online as a result of the pandemic. Part of the Canada Book Fund, which supports books by Canadian authors, the initiative will give $32.1 million to bookstores over two years, “for expenses related to online book sales and to help these bookstores improve their online business models.” “During the pandemic, Canadians bought more Canadian books, proving that our authors and publishers are more important than ever in sharing our stories,” Rodriguez said. “Our government is proud to […]
AAP Reports Adult Sales Flat, Children’s Up in January
The AAP announced statistics for January from their participating StatShot publishers, reporting total sales across the industry of $1.3 billion, 3.7 percent higher than last year. Trade sales were up 4.3 percent to $720.6 million. Adult sales were almost flat at $461.9 million, a 0.6 percent increase over January 2021, while children’s and YA sales continued to increase to $194 million, a 12 percent gain. Within children’s, hardcovers were up 11.5 percent, paperbacks were up 23.6 percent while ebooks fell 17.8 percent. In print, overall trade hardcover sales were $261.4 million, up 6.9 percent, and paperbacks sales were $250.6 million, […]
Apollo Has Been Trying to Acquire Pearson
Private equity company Apollo Global Management has tried twice to purchase educational publisher Pearson since last November. Pearson declined an 800 pence per share in November and another offer of 854.2 pence per share on March 7, finding that Apollo “significantly undervalued the Company and its future prospects.” On Friday, following online rumors, Apollo said formally that it “notes the recent market speculation in relation to Pearson and confirms it is in the preliminary stages of evaluating a possible cash offer by certain of Apollo’s affiliated funds” to buy Pearson. Under London Stock Exchange rules, Apollo has until April 8 […]
WNDB and HBG Launch Program to Support Mid-Career Professionals
We Need Diverse Books has partnered with Hachette Book Group and Beacon Press to launch Rise Up: Retention Program for Diverse Mid-Level Publishing Professionals, inspired by Lee & Low’s 2019 Diversity Baseline Survey. “The survey’s data highlights the importance of retaining diverse mid-level publishing professionals since many leave the industry within three to six years, due to barriers like toxic workplace environments, lack of room for career growth, and unsustainable pay,” WNDB said in a release. Sponsored by HBG and Beacon Press and geared toward both adult and children’s staffers, Rise Up builds on the WNDB Internship Grant Program, which was […]