The National Book Critics Circle Awards went to: Binocular Vision, by Edith Pearlman (Fiction) Liberty’s Exiles, by Maya Jasanoff (General Nonfiction) George F. Kennan: An American Life by John Lewis Gaddis (Biography) The Memory Place, by Mira Bartok (Autobiography) Space, in Chains, by Laura Kasischke (Poetry) Otherwise Known As The Human Condition, by Geoff Dyer (Criticism) Release
Dorchester’s Office Closed, Assets To Be Auctioned After Owner Forecloses
Dorchester Publishing, plagued by financial troubles for years and having recently divested itself of its remaining editorial staff, appears to be marching towards an ignoble end after more than 40 years in business. In a twist worthy of Dorchester’s tortured road to collapse, the publisher’s owner is the one foreclosing, on a personal basis, against the company itself, and will collect the proceeds from the sale of at least some of its property–raising questions about whether any assets will remain to pay creditors. On February 28, John Backe filed a notice of foreclosure after failing to collect on an outstanding […]
People, Etc.
Michael Taeckens will join Graywolf Press as marketing director, effective April 16. He spent the past eleven years at Algonquin, most recently as online and paperback marketing director. Casey Ebro has joined McGraw-Hill Professional as editor. She was previously an editor at Arcade Publishing. In France, Gregory Messina has joined the Place des Editeurs group as rights director, reporting to Anne-Laure Aymeric. He will sell rights for Belfond, Presses de la Cité, Hors Collection, Le Pré aux Clercs and Omnibus. Previously, he sold rights at Editions Robert Laffont. At Chronicle, Jeff Wiebe has been promoted to associate director of operations. The 2011 […]
In Upholding Decision, Appellate Court Agrees Lampack Can’t Claim Commission On Grimes Option Book
On March 1, the Appellate Division of New York State Supreme Court unanimously upheld a 2010 court decision that ruled the Peter Lampack Agency could not collect commissions on a novel by former client Martha Grimes that was an option book on a prior agreement, but whose terms were agreed upon with her publisher Penguin under a separate contract. (For more information on the original case, click here; Grimes and Penguin also recently settled a related suit with respect to legal fees and unpaid royalties as well.) The court said the contracts at issue in the case between Grimes and […]
Backlist eBooks by John Updike and Judy Blume Coming Soon From Random House
Random House will release a number of backlist ebook editions by two of the company’s flagship authors, John Updike and Judy Blume. With respect to Updike, who died in 2009, “the entire backlist” will appear soon in digital format, the majority for the first time. (You may recall that Updike’s Rabbit Angstrom tetralogy appeared briefly as ebooks under the Odyssey Editions banner, the fledgling ebook company launched in 2010 by the Wylie Agency, and the Random House took over ebook publication.) Meanwhile, Random House Children’s will release ebook editions in North America of 10 of Blume’s books for children and […]
People, Etc.
Julia Haav has joined Yale University Press as publicist. She was previously publicist in the New York offices of Europa Editions. At Chronicle Books, Emily Haynes has been promoted to senior editor, entertainment. Andrea Au Levitt has joined Reader’s Digest as a senior editor, acquiring and developing health and food books. She was projects director, Prevention Books at Rodale. Lara Hancock will move to Simon & Schuster UK Children’s as editorial director for picture books and novelty in early May. She is currently publishing director for picture books and gift at Egmont UK. The PEN American Center has elected Peter […]