At Headline, Jonathan Taylor has been appointed Publishing Director for Non-Fiction, effective March 7. He will also join the Headline board. Previously he was Publishing Director for HarperCollins UK. Simon & Schuster announced that Jeffery Deaver’s contemporary-set James Bond novel, due to be published in May, will be titled CARTE BLANCHE and is set in Dubai.AP Two months after circulating the possibility that Bob Dylan was looking to move to Simon & Schuster for a new book deal, Crain’s New York reports the singer has done just that with a new six-book-contract.Crain’s Similarly, the Arthur Conan Doyle Estate has signed […]
Knopf Clarifies Lawrence Wright’s Upcoming Scientology Book
Numerous media reports have created a wave of confusion over author Lawrence Wright’s work-in-progress on the Church of Scientology and director and high-profile Scientology defector Paul Haggis. In a telephone interview on Friday, Wright’s longtime editor at Knopf, Ann Close, clarified several key points. Knopf purchased North American rights to the book from agent Andrew Wylie at The Wylie Agency in early October, prior to Frankfurt. But that sale was too late to be included in the agency’s Frankfurt catalog–which was the source for a Gawker post earlier this month, which claimed the book proposal was still being shopped, and […]
Borders Lays Off Another 15 Staffers
As publishers met with Borders executives yesterday afternoon to discuss restructuring options and credit negotiation agreements, the company announced today that another 15 staffers have been let go. Spokesperson Mary Davis issued a statement that, “As part of its brand transformation process, which includes enhanced cost efficiencies measures, Borders Group today eliminated 15 positions within its field organization. The number includes 9 regional merchandising manager, four event marketing manager and two district manager positions. “The affected employees are being offered, in some cases, an alternative position, while the rest of the employees will receive severance in accordance with company policy. […]
A New Survey Shows A Widening Generational Gap of Mystery Readers
Sisters in Crime, in conjunction with Bowker PubTrack, released the results of a survey of 1,056 mystery readers conducted in September 2010 on their book-buying habits. And while many of the results will not be a surprise both to those in the industry and in the mystery community, what struck me in particular is the gap between readers over and under the age of 40, and how current acquisitions may appeal more to the younger group while it neglects, for good or for ill, older readers. Generally, the majority of mystery/crime fiction buyers tend to be women over the age […]
Bookselling: British Bookshops Goes Into Administration; Book Sales Boost Tesco; and More
Sussex-based chain British Bookshops as gone into administration, with recovery specialists Zolfo Cooper on board and Simon Appell, Fraser Gray, and Stuart Mackellar appointed as joint administrators. The news comes less than a year after managing director John Simpson led a buyout from turnaround specialists Endless, and added 12 stores for a total of 51 across the UK. Earlier today the Bookseller reported that Macmillan Distribution had stopped shipping stock to the retailer for non-payment of its October account, despite repeated assurances the bill would be paid by the end of December. One publisher said the store “has been refusing […]
People, Announcements, Etc.
Kate Hamill is leaving her position as editor at It Books/HarperCollins, where she acquired the #1 NYT bestseller SH*T MY DAD SAYS, to join the business development team of the social publishing and reading site Scribd. Her last day is tomorrow. Going forward, she can be reached at kate@scribd.com. Joe Gores, a three-time Edgar Award winner and most recently, the author of SPADE AND ARCHER, the authorized prequel to THE MALTESE FALCON, died Monday. He was 79 and had been in poor health in recent years. A memorial mass will be held on Friday January 21 at 11:30 a.m. at […]