Kent Haruf‘s final, posthumous novel OUR SOULS AT NIGHT is the ABA’s No. 1 Indie Next pick for June (and makes the iBooks Store’s top picks for May as well). The rest of the list features the following (including 5 books, asterisked, you can start reading right now in our free spring/summer Buzz Books ebook; download it now while you still can, since our big fall/winter Buzz Books collections will be landing soon in advance of BEA): Uprooted, by Naomi Novik The Sunlit Night, by Rebecca Dinerstein The Invasion of the Tearling, by Erika Johansen *The Water Knife, by Paolo […]
People, Etc.: Nowell to Depart Nielsen; Edgar Award Winners; and More
Jonathan Stolper will move up to svp and managing director of Nielsen Book as of July 1, as longtime president Jonathan Nowell steps down after 20 years at Nielsen. Nowell will be “helping with the transition through the end of this year,” though he says in the announcement “I feel it’s time to pursue other opportunities.” Stolper joined Nielsen Book in the US in 2010. President of Nielsen Entertainment Howard Applebaum comments: “This is bitter sweet for me. During his 20-year tenure, Jonathan Nowell has built a book business that is critical to the ongoing success of the wider book industry and […]
Writers Coffee Shop Owner Ordered To Set Aside $10M in Escrow In Fifty Shades Lawsuit
Two months after a Texas state court jury ruled that Jennifer Lynn Pedroza, former chief marketing officer of Australian publisher The Writers Coffee Shop, is entitled to a share of the proceeds from EL James’ FIFTY SHADES trilogy, state district judge Susan McCoy, ordered the defendant, TWCS founder Amanda Hayward, to deposit a minimum of $10 million into an escrow account until a final accounting determines how much Pedroza is actually owed. According to the Star-Telegram, a hearing last week “divulged that the e-publishing business that Hayward, Pedroza and two other women formed, which originally released what would become an international […]
People, Awards, Etc.
Acting publisher at Running Press Allison Devlin will move to Time Inc. Books on May 4 as associate publisher, Publishing Trends reports. Susan Weinberg will fill in as acting publisher at Running Press when Devlin leaves, until a permanent publisher is named. At HarperAudio, Sean McManus has been promoted to associate publisher. Marjacq Scripts in London has hired two new associate agents, Catherine Pellegrino and Georgie Bouz. Children’s book specialist Pellegrino had founded her own agency in 2011; Bouz was previously an editor at Penguin Random House UK and specializes in women’s commercial fiction, commercial literary fiction and commercial non-fiction. Foreign rights agent Sandra Sawicka will work as a primary agent as well. […]
Six Writers Drop Out As PEN Gala Hosts, Objecting to Charlie Hebdo Award
When PEN American Center hosts its annual gala on May 5, six of its planned author hosts will not be in attendance. On Friday, novelists Peter Carey, Michael Ondaatje, Francine Prose, Teju Cole, Rachel Kushner and Taiye Selasi alerted the organization of their withdrawal from the gala over the decision to award its Freedom of Expression Courage award to the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, which saw 12 staffers killed in the January 7 attack on its offices. Prose told the AP she was “quite upset” at the Hebdo honor, adding: “I couldn’t imagine being in the audience when they […]
People, Etc.
In the UK, Parragon has promoted Wendy Friedman to president, creative, responsible for setting the top level creative direction for all of Parragon’s product output across its Books and Kit & Gift divisions. Darren Witherall moves up to president, EMEA, responsible for all of Parragon’s businesses in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, India and Germany. Finally, Kim Brown has joined as president, North America. Previously she was svp, merchandise at Baker & Taylor. All promotions are effective May 1. Target‘s Book Club pick for May is The Secret Life of Violet Grant by Beatriz Williams. Forthcoming J.K. Rowling‘s next […]