Last Friday Los Angeles District Court Judge Margaret Morrow granted Warner Bros.’ motion to dismiss Tess Gerritsen’s breach of contract lawsuit, filed at the end of April. Gerritsen’s original complaint alleged she should receive credit and net profit participation on the movie “Gravity,” directed by Alfonso Cuaron, which she said was partly based on her 1999 novel of the same name. Gerritsen sought legal remedy for what could “no longer be dismissed as coincidence” after learning that Cuaron had been attached to her project as far back as 2000. Gerritsen had originally contracted with Katja productions, a shell corporation of New Line […]
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Allison Hunter has joined the Stuart Krichevsky Literary Agency as an agent. Previously she was an agent at Inkwell Management, and at SKLA will continue to actively acquire literary and commercial fiction, memoir, narrative nonfiction, cultural studies and pop culture. Jordan Hamessley will join Adaptive Books as editorial director on February 9 overseeing all imprints. Previously she was an editor at Egmont USA. Karin Schulze‘s position as associate director, foreign rights at the Crown Publishing Group has been eliminated. After February 6, she can be reached at karin.schulze@gmail.com. Ami Greko has left her position as book marketing strategist at Goodreads […]
Simon & Schuster’s North Star Way Division Promises Expanded Suite of Services
Simon & Schuster has launched North Star Way, a new publishing unit focused on practical nonfiction that the company says “will offer authors an expanded suite of profile-building, ancillary services that extend beyond the boundaries of traditional publishing.” Bringing books to market starting in spring 2016, it is lead by vp, publisher Michele Martin. She reports to Scribner Publishing Group president and Touchstone publisher Susan Muldow, and North Star will get support f0r its program from existing Touchstone personnel. Martin relinquishes her role as associate publisher for the Gallery Publishing Group, with that position to be filled by someone new at a later date. […]
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Random House’s ambassador to independent booksellers Ruth Liebmann “will expand her role to provide the same critical support to the Penguin Publishing Group with our independent booksellers as she does currently for the Random House divisions.” She takes on the broader title of vp, account marketing, Penguin Random House (and she maintains her oversight of the Random House Events Department). President of sales Jaci Updike writes, “Every day, Ruth makes an exceptional difference with our independent booksellers. A former New York City bookseller, Ruth began her career at Random House in 1995 as a Manhattan sales rep. Over the past two decades, […]
Caldwell’s The Fifth Gospel, A PL Buzz Book, Tops March Indie Next List
The preview version of the March Indie Next List has The Fifth Gospel by Ian Caldwell as indie booksellers’ No. 1 selection for the month. An exclusive pre-publication excerpt is available to read right now in our just-released Buzz Books 2015: Spring/Summer, if you have not downloaded your copy yet. The rest of the list features: The Buried Giant, by Kazuo Ishiguro Where the Dead Pause, and the Japanese Say Goodbye: A Journey, by Marie Mitsuki Mockett Soil, by Jamie Kornegay Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania, by Erik Larson Leaving Berlin, by Joseph Kanon Barefoot Dogs: Stories, […]
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On Tuesday, the UK’s Sky News reported that Pearson chairman Glen Moreno is “preparing to leave the company later this year” after 10 years there. Their sources say that Pearson has retained a headhunter to oversee the recruitment of a new chair. (It had been announced previously that Moreno will become chairman of Virgin Money later this year.) A Pearson spokesperson said, “Glen Moreno continues as Pearson’s chair and we have not begun an active search for a successor.” At Viking/Penguin, Meredith Burks has been promoted to publicity manager, while Annie Harris moves up to associate publicist. Awards Helen MacDonald‘s memoir H […]