Just days after Borders closed its Westwood store, the west side Los Angeles neighborhood learned it will lose another: The Mystery Bookstore will close its doors on January 31. In a note to authors and customers sent Tuesday afternoon, owners Kirk Pasich and Pamela Woods said, “We simply cannot compete with the Amazons of the world and the impact of the economy.” A note on the store’s website adds “We’ve been proud and grateful to serve you. We treasure the friendships we’ve made through the store, and hope to keep them, wherever we all scatter, as we keep reading and […]
Author News: Salinger Estate Settles With Colting; Coehlo Books Banned in Iran; and More
On December 7, the JD Salinger Estate quietly settled with Frederik Colting, author of the unauthorized Catcher in The Rye sequel 60 Years Later. According to the agreement, Colting will be prevented “from manufacturing, publishing, distributing, shipping, advertising, promoting, selling, or otherwise disseminating any copy of the book 60 Years Later, by Fredrik Colting writing under the name of J.D. California, or any portion thereof, in or to the United States.” Colting is, however, free to sell the book in international territories, and PW reports that is the case in at least a half-dozen countries.PWSettlement agreement Paulo Coehlo accused Iran, […]
Sarnoff Leaves Bertelsmann for KKR
Longtime top Bertelsmann executive Richard Sarnoff will leave his positions as co-chairman of Bertelsmann, Inc., the company’s North American division, and president of Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments at the end of January to join both Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and their affiliate Weld North as a senior advisor. (Bertelsmann is already a partner with KKR in the music-publishing joint venture BMG, and Sarnoff will join that entity’s board on KKR’s behalf.) Bertelsmann chief financial officer Thomas Rabe will take over leadership of BDMI, which has invested in companies including Trion, Mojiva, Qeep, American Reading Company, Vindicia, and RoyaltyShare. Sarnoff spent much […]
Key Porter Confirms It Will Suspend Operations
Key Porter Books confirmed on Friday that it will suspend operations while it considers “a number of restructuring options.” In a statement publisher Jordan Fenn said that Key Porter will not publish any new books going forward, but the company “is supporting its authors through the continued marketing and sale of previously published works and distribution through H.B. Fenn and Company Ltd.” A number of options are being considered, including selling off some key titles. Key Porter had laid off editor-in-chief Linda Pruessen, its last remaining editorial staffer, on December 16. The company was also supposed to publish Mark Bourrie’s […]
E-News: Wylie Reaches Deal with French Publishers; Concerns Over E-Books As Territory Rights-Breakers; And More
Andrew Wylie has evidently resolved the digital rights dispute with French publishers, which led to an open letter sharply critical of the agent’s practices of keeping e-rights (without mentioning Wylie by name.) “The story is ancient history. It is all solved. We have spoken to the French publishers involved,” Wylie told The Bookseller. Flammarion chief executive Teresa Cremisi said: “Everything will be resolved. It was like a summer fever–amazing. But he has now abandoned his project and that is a good thing.” The Bookseller In other e-rights news, agent Andrew Nurnberg voiced his concern that some American publishers may try […]
Xiaobo Wins Nobel Peace Prize
Literary critic, writer, and political activist Liu Xiaobo, who is serving an 11-year sentence in a Chinese prison, has won the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize “for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee said. The Chinese government condemned the award, and state media immediately blacked out the news and Chinese government censors blocked Nobel prize reports from Internet websites. “We hope the Chinese authorities receive this wise decision by the Nobel Committee as the rest of the world will receive it–as recognition of the power of its citizens to guide and shape […]