Anja Schmidt has joined Oxmoor House as editorial director, reporting to Time Home Entertainment publisher Margot Schupf. Most recently she was US publisher at Kyle Books. Zack Wagman will join Ecco as executive editor on March 9. Previously he was senior editor at Crown & Hogarth. Matt Mullin will leave Nook, where he has been senior manager, digital content, at the end of this week and joins start-up book discovery site The Reading Room on March 16 as sales director. Reporting to Mullin at The Reading Room will be newly-hired sales and publishing coordinator Nicole Cunningham, formerly of ICM. At Holt, Caroline Zancan has been […]
Writers Seeks Class Action Status In Author Solutions Suit
After a near two-year odyssey of complaints, documents, motions to dismiss, and plaintiff changes, the lawsuit seeking class action status against Author Solutions alleging multiple breaches completed discovery on January 22 and is moving to the next stage. A February 26 filing in New York’s Southern District Court by Kelvin James, Jodi Foster, and Mary Simmons (added to the suit after Terry Hardy dropped out in the fall of 2013) asks Judge Denise Cote for certification of the class, covering 170,000 or more authors “who, during the period 2007 through the present, purchased a publishing package or service from Author Solutions.” The plaintiffs say their lawsuit […]
People, Etc.
Julia Pastore will join Harper One as executive editor on March 2. She has been executive editor at Demos Health, prior to which she was senior editor at Crown Archetype. Michele Cobb has joined the Audio Publishers Association as executive director. She currently owns MLC Consulting, which provides PR, sales, marketing and business development services for the publishing industry, and was previously vp, sales & marketing for AudioGo. At Random House Children’s Books, Maggie Gibson has been promoted to production associate. Deputy editor of the Boston Globe’s Idea section Amanda Katz announced on Twitter earlier this week she is “moving to a […]
Bookselling: Borderlands Sustained By Members; Positive Outlook Post-Winter Institute
Borderlands Books in San Francisco, which announced last month it was set to close as a result of the city’s new law mandating minimum wage increases, will stay open thanks to a membership drive. Not only did the store reach its goal of 300 subscribers contributing at least $100 to keep the store open through March 31, 2016, but Borderlands co-owner Alan Beatts told the SF Chronicle it now has more than 500 sponsors. “It’s been incredible,” Beatts said. “I had no idea that this would get so much attention from the press, from the public. I was astonished by […]
Orhan’s Inheritance by Aline Ohanesian Tops April Indie Next List
The preview version of the April Indie Next List has Orhan’s Inheritance by Aline Ohanesian as indie booksellers’ No. 1 selection for the month. The list also includes World Gone By by Dennis Lehane; A Desperate Fortune by Susanna Kearsley; The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen, and The Children’s Crusade by Ann Packer, excerpts of which you can read right now in Buzz Books 2015: Spring/Summer, if you have not downloaded your copy yet. The rest of the list features: The Witch of Painted Sorrows, by M.J. Rose At The Water’s Edge, by Sara Gruen What Comes Next and How […]
People, Etc.
Benjamin Lee will join Putnam and Dutton as vp, associate publisher of paperbacks, as both imprints will launch their own in-house paperback lines beginning January 2016. Lee was previously vp, associate publisher at Atria. At St. Martin’s, Monique Patterson has been promoted to editorial director of romance while also continuing as executive editor. She will continue to acquire women’s fiction, literary fiction and commercial nonfiction for all parts of St. Martin’s list (hardcover, trade, mass market and ebook) and will continue to strengthen SMP’s African American fiction and nonfiction program as well. Former White House Press Secretary and political analyst for CNN Jay Carney will […]