A little more than two months before HarperCollins was due to publish Billy Joel‘s memoir The Book of Joel, with a finished cover unveiled and a manuscript draft turned in, the book deal is off. “It took working on writing a book to make me realize that I’m not all that interested in talking about the past, and that the best expression of my life and its ups and downs has been and remains my music,” he said in a statement. Spokeswoman Tina Andreadis said that Joel’s memoir “was well into the editing process, but that Joel had not approved […]
Tackling Digital Relevancy at BISG’s NEXT Conference
Yesterday, Brian O’Leary kicked off BISG’s NEXT conference–Developing the 2020 Publishing Program–with a reprise of his Context First presentation (previously delivered at Books in Browsers and Tools of Change). “The challenge is not just being digital,” O’Leary said, “It’s about being relevant.” His vision of “a digital-first, content-abundant universe”, where users define their content consumption experiences and publishers must develop flexible processes and workflows, appropriately set the stage for the day’s challenge of developing strategies for a fictional publisher in the year 2020. In small working groups, participants outlined mobile and content strategies, addressed discoverability, and defined the publisher’s customer-base and core […]
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Associate Publisher of Knopf Canada Michael Schellenberg has decided to leave the company to consider new paths for his future career. ” I am proud to have had the opportunity to work with him and see his creative talent and commitment to authors, as well as his passion for books, both literary and commercial,” said Random House Canada EVP Louise Dennys in a statement. Schellenberg joined Knopf Canada as a senior editor in 2003. Randy Ladenheim-Gil has left Alpha Books, where she was executive editor, in the wake of the company’s consolidation of the imprint’s editorial staff in its Indiana […]
What Borders Paid Creditors Before Filing for Bankruptcy; 12 More Angus & Robertson Shops to Close; and More
A new filing in federal bankruptcy court yesterday indicated how much money Borders paid creditors in the 90 days leading up to its Chapter 11 filing on February 16, and how those payments were dispensed. Looking at the largest publishing houses, Random House and Penguin received approximately $24 million, but Penguin received two bulk payments of about $12 million on November 19, while Random collected payments through February 3, though nothing more sizable than $1.6m received on December 24. HarperCollins received $14.1 million, with $12.5m paid by December 9, and nearly all of Macmillan’s $6.8m paid was received from Borders […]
Briefs: Controversy over The Pale King On-Sale Date; Details on Stephenie Meyer’s Next Novel; and More
Little, Brown made much hay of publishing David Foster Wallace‘s unfinished novel The Pale King on April 15, since that day is tax day (except this year it’s not, thanks to a tardy Congress) and the book features the day-to-day thoughts and deeds of IRS agents. But the book’s actual on-sale date was March 22, which is how Amazon, BN.com and other online retailers started shipping copies to customers – even though most independent bookstores weren’t selling the book yet or hadn’t even received copies, believing or having been told the book was embargoed. “I don’t really understand the confusion,” […]
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Adam Rothberg has been promoted to Senior VP, Corporate Communications at Simon & Schuster. He joined the company in 1985 and has been VP, Corporate Communications since 1999. Penguin and BlogHer have partnered for an online book club and writer’s conference. Starting today BlogHer’s new book club section will feature two Penguin titles a month, beginning with Geraldine Brooks’ novel People of the Book. The writer’s conference will take place in New York this fall and will target women writers and bloggers. Open Road Integrated Media has appointed Biagi Rights Management as their subsidiary rights licensing agent. Rights inquiries can […]