Samantha Shannon’s just-published fantasy debut THE BONE SEASON, already the beneficiary of a great deal of advance buzz, will receive an extra boost as a result of being the inaugural pick of The Today Show’s new Book Club. Shannon’s publisher Bloomsbury told the NYT that retailer orders “roughly doubled” when they were told of the selection. The Today Show tried another version of its Book Club about a decade ago before letting it fade away quietly, but current plans appear to be more ambitious. Selections by the show will be made every four to five weeks, with books “emblazoned with […]
Simon & Schuster, Barnes & Noble Resolve Terms Dispute
After more than eight months of contention, Barnes & Noble and Simon & Schuster have resolved their terms dispute, which agents, authors and some at the publisher itself say resulted in significantly reduced orders and display of S&S books in the bookseller’s stores since January. In a joint statement both Barnes & Noble and S&S said they “look forward to promoting great books by Simon & Schuster authors.” A letter to authors and agents from ceo Carolyn Reidy elaborated a little more on the resolution. Reidy thanked them for their support “during this most difficult period”, adding that she and […]
Briefs: More Funding for Open Road; Commonwealth Book Prize Discontinued; And More
Open Road Integrated Media announced it has received $11 million in Series C funding led by private equity group NewSpring Capital (whose technology fund NewSpring Growth Capital III supplied $8 million) with existing investors Kohlberg Ventures, Azure Capital, and Golden Seeds joining NewSpring in the financing, bringing the total amount Open Road has raised to $24 million. On Open Road’s blog ceo Jane Friedman said the new funding will be used for new technology, additional revenue streams, expand their International Publishing Partners Translation Program (which includes 8 partners to date) and further investment in “appropriate content and technology companies.” Andrea […]
Apple, DOJ Will Meet Again in Court on August 27
As ordered, Apple and the Department of Justice submitted a joint letter to Judge Cote at the end of the day Monday that schedules a court hearing on August 27 at 2 PM to discuss their progress on a proposed injunction. Both sides also said they will submit letters concerning their respective positions on the scope of the injunction — which, for now, are as far apart as they can possibly get — by August 23. Separately, also on Monday, Judge Cote officially approved the government’s motion for entry of its proposed settlement with Macmillan, a week after granting preliminary […]
People, Etc.
Director of publicity for Bloomsbury Children’s and Walker Children’s Katy Hershberger is leaving. She will start next week as an associate director of publicity for Simon & Schuster Children’s, as well as the Atheneum, and Margaret McElderry Books imprint. Following the sale of AP Watt to United Agents late last year, Derek Johns will retire at the end of November. He has been at AP Watt since 1992. At Harlequin’s Mira, Tara Parsons has been promoted to editorial director. Casey Maloney joined Picador as senior publicist. She was most recently a publicist at Penguin, working on the Gotham, Avery, Viking […]
People, Etc.
David Inman will return to Quarto in September as managing director of their UK publishing group, Aurum. He is currently sales and marketing director at Templar, prior to which he was sales and marketing director Quarto. Former senior editor at Ballantine and literary agent Pamela Dean Strickler, 53, died July 18 from cancer. Strickler spent sixteen years at Ballantine before leaving to start her own agency, specializing in romance, women’s fiction, and historical fiction. The Dayton Literary Peace Prize’s lifetime achievement award has gone to Wendell Berry. He tells the AP: “As a poet and fiction writer, my goal was to write […]