Cambridge University Press chief operating officer since 2010 Peter Phillips moves up to chief executive of the publisher, taking over from Stephen Bourne as he gives up the top position as planned though continues to work with the Press. Phillips had previously been on the board of UK communications and media regulator Board of Ofcom, and served as coo for BBC News and director of business development for the BBC in the past. For Neil Young‘s high-profile interview at BEA on Wednesday, June 6, it has been announced that author and musician Patti Smith will be the one asking the questions. (Seating at the lunchtime […]
eNews: Hachette Testing Pilot Library eBook Programs with Two Distributors; The Atavist Will Launch Free Content Tool; and More
Hachette is set to test pilot ebook library programs with two unnamed distributors sometime this spring, according to the ALA, which met with the publisher last week. Hachette discontinued the sale of new ebooks to libraries back in April 2010 (though backlist titles remained on offer) and the ALA believes “these pilot programs will help HBG learn more about library patrons’ interests, usage, and expectations, and help the publisher devise the best strategy to reach the widest audience of ebook readers in libraries.” The Atavist will produce a free version of its online content platform this summer, the NYT reports, […]
People: Harlequin Reorganizes Marketing Channels Into Single Digital Unit
Earlier this month Harlequin reorganized its North American digital, retail, direct-to-consumer, and physical sales and marketing channels into a single division, which will be spearheaded by Craig Swinwood, named coo of the entire division. “By bringing these groups together under a single division, we wanted to strengthen the focus on the customers, enjoy the synergies of the marketing group and help build Harlequin’s brand further,” Swinwood told us Friday morning. “We’re committed to being available wherever, whenever, and however women want to shop.” As part of the reorganization, Brent Lewis, now executive vp digital and retail marketing, will oversee a […]
eNews: CreateSpace Allows Authors To Distribute Into Amazon Europe Sites For Free; Kobo Will Sell Harry Potter eBooks; and More
Amazon’s print-on-demand service CreateSpace will now allow self-published authors to distribute their books into Germany, Italy, France, Spain, and the UK for free through the company’s websites in those countries. “We are very excited to offer our members the option to distribute their books on Amazon sites in Europe. By doing so, they will make their books available and in stock to millions of European readers,” said CreateSpace managing director Libby Johnson McKee in a statement. “We are continually working to deliver exceptional value and world-class customer service to our CreateSpace members worldwide, and European distribution is yet another great […]
Hyperion to Publish New Mitch Albom Novel, THE TIME KEEPER, on August 28
Mitch Albom will return to fiction with the August 28 release of THE TIME KEEPER, which Hyperion described in release as a “magical new novel” that “re-invents the legend of Father Time, and casts him not as an old, withered man, but as a gifted young boy who becomes the inventor of the world’s first clock.” When the boy is ” eventually punished for trying to measure God’s greatest gift, [he] is banished to a cave for centuries, forced to listen to the voices of all who come after him seeking more time, more minutes, more years. Eventually, with his […]
People: Frost, Ambrosi, Fuentes, and George
Former president and publisher of the Crown Publishing Group Jenny Frost has joined Scholastic as epublisher and svp ebook strategy. Frost has been working as a consultant for the past two years. Sterling vp marketing and publicity Leigh Ann Ambrosi will join Crown Archetype in the newly created position of vp, Brand Publishing Project Director on June 4, reporting to Tina Constable. In her position, Ambrosi will serve as project director for select publications by key health, fitness, and self-help authors within the Crown Archetype and Harmony Books imprints, and she will also serve as the primary liaison with the author […]