The National Book Awards will announce its finalists on NPR’s Morning Edition at 8:40 PM on October 15. Books & Books owner and co-founder of Miami Book Fair Mitchell Kaplan will make the announcement. Longtime co-owner of Village Books Dee Robinson will retire at the end of the week after more than 34 years. “It’s been a great job for 34 years,” Robinson wrote in a Facebook post to customers. “On to whatever awaits, starting with a pile of books!” Robinson’s husband and co-owner Chuck Robinson will stay on. Ingram will handle sales and distribution for Magnet & Steel, a […]
People, Etc.
Jandra Sutton has left Turner Publishing, where she was the head of marketing, to pursue freelance work in marketing, social media strategy, and publicity. She can be reached at contact@jandralee.com. The James Tait Black Prizes have been awarded to Jim Crace for his novel HARVEST and to Hermoine Lee for her biography PENELOPE FITZGERALD: A Life. John P. Vallier Sr., 88, a longtime Simon & Schuster executive, died August 18. He joined S&S in 1958 and retired in 1992 as vp, regional sales. One of the few Hachette titles kept its Amazon discount throughout the ongoing dispute between the two […]
People: Adjustments At Simon Pulse, and More
The Simon Pulse imprint has announced a new structure to “maximize the amazing potential of Pulse and continue to support the success of Aladdin.” Liesa Abrams is being promoted to vp, editorial director of Pulse and associate editorial director of Aladdin. But “as a result of this reorganization,” Simon Pulse editorial director Patrick Price is leaving the company. Additionally, Michael Strother is being promoted to associate editor of Simon Pulse. At Twelve, Libby Burton has been promoted to associate editor. At Macmillan, Astra Berzinskas and John Edwards have both been promoted to director, mass merchandise sales. The Saroyan Prize for International Writing has been awarded to […]
Acknowledging Big Drop in Amazon Sales, Ellora’s Cave Cuts Staff, Expenses
Romance publisher Ellora’s Cave sent a letter to authors — originally picked up by Absolute Write, then republished by Dear Author after the post was taken down — explaining recent cuts that laid off nearly all of its freelance editors and reduced the headcount to three full-time editors. The publisher claimed the cuts were necessary after the “quick, sharp decline of ebook sales via Amazon in recent months.” They said Ellora’s Cave “is not the only publisher experiencing this sudden decrease, and interestingly, we are not seeing the same drastic dip from other vendors. But Amazon is our largest vendor, so […]
People, Etc.
Rick Horgan will join Scribner on August 25 as executive editor, where he will acquire and edit nonfiction, including politics, sports, current events, biographies, business, memoir, and thought leader books, as well as commercial fiction. Horgan was most recently vp, executive editor at the Crown Publishing Group, where he spent the past 10 years, until their reorganization in May. We made a mistake yesterday; our coverage of Tim Whiting’s promotion to head a combined Piatkus Constable & Robinson group at Little Brown UK in places incorrectly said “Quercus” instead of Piatkus. German minister for culture and media Monika Gruetters said […]
The Barnes & Noble Samsung $179 Tablet Finally Arrives
Barnes & Noble’s newest tablet, saddled with the mouthful of a name Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 NOOK because of the company’s partnership with Samsung, officially launched at a presentation held at BN’s Union Square store Wednesday morning. The 7-inch tablet, which retails at $179 (after a $20 instant rebate) and weighs 9.74 ounces, includes “more than $200 in free content from the NOOK Store” such as Freakonomics, The Wanderer, and I Am Number Four; built-in 1.3-megapixel front- and 3-megapixel rear-facing cameras, and other features. As we reported in June, BN has committed to selling a minimum of 1 million co-branded […]