Longtime administrator of the Booker Prize Prize Martyn Goff, 91, died Wednesday after a long illness. Goff, a former bookseller and the author of 18 books of his own, became administrator in 1970 and retired in 2006. Goff also served as director of the National Book League from 1970 through 1988. Current chair of the Booker Foundation Jonathan Taylor said in a statement: “Martyn was a wonderful advocate and administrator of the prize for so many years. His contribution was invaluable and under Martyn the prize grew in stature and reputation, not least because of his tireless championing of contemporary […]
Revenue Gains on Bigger Losses for Scholastic’s Third Quarter
Scholastic reported third quarter sales of $382.1 million, up 2 percent (or $8.6 million) from a year ago, “largely driven by strong sales in children’s books, especially in the company’s school-based distribution channels, higher circulation of the company’s classroom magazines, and increased sales of classroom books and literacy initiatives.” But Scholastic reported a third quarter loss of $22.1 million, or 68 cents a share, versus a loss of $12.1 million (or 38 cents a share) a year ago, because of greater one-time charges and the end of a tax benefit that boosted the company at the same time last year. […]
Gruen’s At The Water’s Edge Leads April Library Reads List, and More
Sara Gruen’s new novel At The Water’s Edge is the No. 1 pick for the April Library Reads list. The list also includes A Desperate Fortune by Susanna Kearsley, an excerpt of which you can start reading right now in our Buzz Books 2015: Spring/Summer ebook. The rest of the list includes: The Royal We, Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan (Grand Central) The Dream Lover, Elizabeth Berg (Random House) Still The One, Jill Shalvis (Berkley) Inside The O’Briens, Lisa Genova (Gallery) House of Echoes, Brendan Duffy (Ballantine) The Precious One, Marisa de los Santos (William Morrow) The Bone Tree, Greg […]
People: Go Set A Watchman Covers Revealed
Both HarperCollins and William Heinemann revealed their covers for Harper Lee’s GO SET A WATCHMAN, which will be published on July 14. (UK cover is to the left, US to the right.) At Random House, Denise Cronin has been promoted to svp, senior director of subsidiary rights. Brian Perrin has been appointed senior director, marketing digital product development for HarperWave and Harper Business, reporting to Kathy Schneider, effective March 30. Perrin moves over from the corporate marketing department of HarperCollins where he was executive director of digital product development. Senior marketing manager Penny Makras will now report to Perrin, while […]
People, Etc.
Nadea Mina has joined Open Road Integrated Media as senior publicist. Previously she was a senior publicist at St. Martin’s Press. Yulia Borodyanskaya will join ABRAMS on March 25 as director, subsidiary & international rights. Previously she was director, international rights at McGraw-Hill Education. Eric Smith has joined P.S. Literary Agency as an associate agent. He was previously the social media & marketing manager at Quirk Books. Andrew Nurnberg Associates is partnering with Istanbul-based AnatoliaLit Agency, co-founded by Amy Spangler & Dilek Akdemir in 2005, as of April 1. In explaining the new partnership Nurnberg said in the announcement: “I’ve […]
Awards: Sharma Wins Folio; Booker International Shortlist; and More
Akhil Sharma has won the Folio Prize for his novel FAMILY LIFE (Norton). In announcing the $60,000 prize, chair of the judging committee William Fiennes commented: “From a shortlist of which we are enormously proud, Akhil Sharma’s lucid, compassionate, quietly funny account of one family’s life across continents and cultures, emerged as our winner. ‘Family Life’ is a masterful novel of distilled complexity: about catastrophe and survival; attachment and independence; the tension between selfishness and responsibility. We loved its deceptive simplicity and rare warmth. More than a decade in the writing, this is a work of art that expands with […]