David Hillman has been named evp, general counsel at Simon & Schuster, effective April 23, reporting to Carolyn Reidy. Hillman replaces Elisa Rivlin, who is leaving the company. He will be responsible for all legal affairs for S&S and its worldwide companies, working in close counterparts with his colleagues at CBS. Hillman was most recently chief administrative officer, general counsel, and evp, business affairs at Dial Global. The Orange Prize shortlist was announced, featuring three American authors. The winner will be named May 30: Esi Edugyan, Half Blood Blues Anne Enright, The Forgotten Waltz Georgina Harding, Painter of Silence Madeline […]
Pulitzers Fail To Award Fiction Prize
For the first time since 1977, the Pulitzer Prize failed to award a prize in fiction. The finalists for the prize were the late David Foster Wallace’s The Pale King, Karen Russell’s Swamplandia!, and Denis Johnson’s novella Train Dreams, selected from 341 titles read; the fiction category judges were NPR book critic Maureen Corrigan, author Michael Cunningham, and former Times-Picayune book editor Susan Larson. Traditionally the judging committee picks the finalists and the board reads those books and decides the winner. Prize administrator Sig Gissler confirmed to us that is the case, adding the board “failed to reach a majority” and […]
People
Editor-in-chief and deputy director of Stanford University Press Alan Harvey has been promoted to director, effective July 1. He replaces Gordon Burn, who will work as the Press’s deputy editor for the next 12 months and also continue as acquisitions editor for the Stanford Security Studies series of publications, which he founded and plans to expand. At Free Press, Sharbari Kamat has been promoted to associate editor (continuing to work with Martha Levin); as has Donna Loffredo (continuing to work with Leslie Meredith) and Sydney Tanigawa (continuing to work with Dominick Anfuso). Peter Bohan has been promoted to associate director of marketing at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s. Ron Hussey has been […]
BN’s Newest Simple Touch Reader Has a Front-Lit Screen
Thursday afternoon Barnes & Noble announced the newest version of its standalone e-reading device would come with a front-lit glowing screen that solves what the company believes is the “number-one problem couples have in bed — having their sleep interrupted, or being prevented from falling asleep, when their partner reads with the light on.” Now called Nook Simple Touch Reader with Glowlight, it retails at $139 and is available for pre-order immediately, shipping in early May. The new model, whose specs were leaked Wednesday by The Digital Reader, is $40 more expensive than the non-glowing version, and has about half […]
Meanwhile, The EU Looks to Settle With Every Publisher Except Penguin
Following yesterday’s news from the Department of Justice, the European Commission’s parallel investigation of agency ebook price may be close to a settlement among most of the parties involved as well. Multiple news reports indicate that Apple and Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, and Simon & Schuster – but not Penguin – have all sent proposals to the EC to settle the case. S&S spokesperson Adam Rothberg told Bloomberg they are in “active and productive discussions” with the EC. Joaquin Almunia, the EU’s competition chief, said in a statement that he welcomed an early resolution and was engaged in “fruitful discussions” with the […]
Happier News: JK Rowling’s Novel, THE CASUAL VACANCY, Lands September 27
Ahead of the London Book Fair, Little, Brown UK announced the title and publication date of JK Rowling‘s novel for adults. Described as a “blackly comic” novel centered around a small town in which everyone is at war with each other that’s exacerbated by the unexpected death of a parish council member, THE CASUAL VACANCY will be released worldwide on September 27. Running approximately 480 pages, the hardcover is priced at $35 and the ebook at $19.99. The full description provided reads: “When Barry Fairweather dies unexpectedly in his early forties, the little town of Pagford is left in shock. […]