Harper Children’s and Clarion Books have launched Allida Books, led by Newbery Medal-winning author Linda Sue Park and Clarion vp, editorial director Anne Hoppe. The imprint, “named for the Korean word that means to inform, announce, or make known,” will launch in early 2023 and has the mission “to encourage marginalized writers and artists to explore the stories they are most passionate about and to craft narratives that defy expectations,” a release states. “I want Allida to be creator-centered, because I feel strongly that when artists are supported in making work from their deepest passions, kids get better books,” Park […]
People 6/23
Lauren Levite has been promoted to publicity manager at Harper Children's.
NYT Magazine on the Past, Present, and Future of Diversity in Publishing
The New York Times magazine posted a comprehensive piece on the past, present, and future of diversity in publishing—hiring staff, acquiring books, and cultivating audiences who aren’t white. For “Inside the Push to Diversify the Book Business,” Times magazine writer Marcela Valdes interviewed more than 50 current and former publishing professionals, as well as authors, “about the previous unsuccessful attempts to cultivate Black audiences and about an industry culture that still struggles to overcome the clubby, white elitism it was born in.” She also pulls from her own experience in publishing and as a critic and editor. When she joined […]
B&N, Publishers, Authors Respond to Virginia Obscenity Case
Barnes & Noble, Bloomsbury and Sarah J. Maas, and Oni Press and Maia Kobabe have filed motions to dismiss the case that alleges A Court of Mist and Fury and Gender Queer are “obscene for unrestricted viewing by minors,” the Virginian-Pilot reports. Barnes & Noble states that the court cannot restrict access to minors “while allowing adults unrestricted access.” While the original petition references excerpts from the books, the authors and publishers say that the books as a whole are not obscene “under state and constitutional law.” They also argue that the petition should be dismissed because the books have […]
New Books Publishing June 21
Ottessa Moshfegh, Hilary Mantel and Riley Sager lead this week’s fiction releases, while nonfiction includes new work from Ed Yong. 19 works of fiction https://bookshop.org/lists/new-fiction-publishing-june-21 https://shop.aer.io/publishers_lunch/cl/New_Fiction_Publishing_June_/223191 9 nonfiction titles https://bookshop.org/lists/new-nonfiction-publishing-june-21 https://shop.aer.io/publishers_lunch/cl/New_Nonfiction_Publishing_June_/223192 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.
OCLC Sues Clarivate for Stealing Library Catalog Records
OCLC has filed a lawsuit against Clarivate and its subsidiaries Clarivate Analytics, ProQuest and ExLibris for “tortious interference of contract, tortious interference of prospective business relationships, and conspiracy to do the same.” ExLibris is developing a collaborative cataloging system called MetaDoor, a competitor to WorldCat, OCLC’s collective catalog of library bibliographic content that is populated by library members who are contracted with OCLC. (OCLC says 8,000 libraries have WorldCat subscriptions.) The suit alleges that Clarivate has built MetaDoor with data from WorldCat, given to them by OCLC customers—a breach of those customers’ contract with OCLC. “In addition to tortiously interfering […]