MJ Franklin will move over from social editor at the NYT to join the NYT Book Review this summer as an assistant preview editor. Franklin will help cover literary fiction, memoir and essays, and he will lead their young adult coverage. Aubrey Poole, former editor at the Jimmy Patterson imprint, has joined subscription box service Literati as Acquisitions Editor and Curator for children’s books ages 0-12. Rhodes Murphy has joined the publicity agency Books Forward team as a publicist, and Rachel Hutchings has been hired as a digital marketing strategist. Quarto joined the growing list of publishers making clear they […]
International Thriller Writers Board Petitioned to Resign Over Handling of Sexual Assault Complaint
More than 100 members of International Thriller Writers are calling for the resignation of the organization’s board in a new petition, “per the ITW bylaws,” following charges that the board failed to take members’ sexual assault complaints seriously. The petition says that, ” If needed, we will submit a quorum of 10 percent of ITW member signatures” to call for election of a new board among active members. ITW debut author chair Laurie Chandlar had resigned her post in protest last week, after she and author Penni Jones “brought serious concerns to the ITW board regarding a male author’s behavior […]
People, Etc.
Amanda Rutter has joined Jennifer Azantian Literary Agency as a literary agent, representing adult, YA and MG fantasy and science fiction. She was previously an agent at Red Sofa Literary Agency. Obituaries Literary agent Felicity Bryan, 74, died Sunday at home of stomach cancer. Bryan was a journalist at the FT and the Economist before joining Curtis Brown UK in 1972. She established Felicity Bryan Associates in 1988. Bryan also authored a number of books on gardening. Robert D. Richardson, 86, Bancroft prize-winning historian known for his biographies of William James and Ralph Waldo Emerson, died last week after sustaining head injuries in a fall. He was the husband […]
Hudson’s First Quarter Sales Down 23 Percent as Expected
Confirming preliminary estimates offered in April, the travel retailer and book chain Hudson reported first quarter sales for the period ending March 31 of $341.5 million, down 23.3 percent due to COVID-related store closures in airports worldwide. Sales of “literature and publications,” which includes books, fell even further, at $24.6 million, down 31 percent from $35.7 million a year ago. Same-store sales were down 22.5 percent, to $307.4 million. The company recorded a goodwill impairment of $52.3 million, contributing to an operating loss of $(76.3 million), compared to a profit of $15.1 million last first quarter. Beginning in mid-May, as […]
Publishers Rush to Restock Anti-Racist Books Amidst Demand Surge
The latest NYT bestseller lists, released last Wednesday, were dominated by anti-racism books and books by Black authors. That demand was widely celebrated, but so unprecedented that many booksellers were left without stock to sell. On June 12, roughly half of the anti-racist books on the NYT hardcover and paperback nonfiction bestseller lists were out of stock at both Amazon and Ingram, as were many other bestsellers by Black authors, in many cases with replenishments coming this week or next. Meanwhile, Black authors received another boost this weekend when a #Blackoutbestsellerlist campaign launched on social media. Publishers, authors, and readers […]
Activist Investor Cevian Capital Discloses Stake in Pearson
Pearson’s stock jumped 12 percent Friday on the news that Cevian Capital, one of Europe’s largest activist investors, had built a 5.4 percent stake in the company. The news was made public via a regulatory filing from the Swedish fund late yesterday. The fund bought the stake to influence Pearson’s choice of a new chief executive, according to Bloomberg. Chief executive John Fallon announced at the end of 2019 that he would retire this year after presiding over Pearson’s long, steady decline. The FT notes, “Although Cevian usually takes a board seat at companies it invests in, the approach with […]