Matt Brown has been named SVP of Scholastic and President of Klutz, the company’s “books plus” division for children, reporting to trade division president Ellie Berger. Previously Brown was co-founder and “play czar” at strategic innovation company big BOING LLC. Helen Atsma will join Grand Central Publishing as a senior editor at the end of August, reporting to Deb Futter. She arrives from Holt, where her authors inclued #1 NYT bestseller Rhoda Janzen, Costa Prize winner Catherine O’Flynn, Eugenia Kim and Ali Shaw. Derek Lawrence has been named Director of Retail Sales at Interweave, effective immediately, reporting to Steve Koenig. […]
Layoffs Continue at Crown
Crown has gone through its second round of layoffs in a week, with five jobs reportedly eliminated in its WaterBrook Multnomah imprint. A spokesperson confirmed to PW that “a small number of positions have been eliminated” and that “we see these changes as aligning our business with our ongoing strategy here.” Earlier a “small number of positions” had been eliminated on the Clarkson Potter side. PW
Evanovich Contract Negotiations Become News Story
News of an author switching publishing houses often doesn’t even trickle out into public view until the most recent book arrives with a different colophon on the side of the hardcover or paperback. Reports on contract negotiations are even rarer – but for the big brand names, anything is news. Hence yesterday’s story at Deadline.com about negotiations between Janet Evanovich and St. Martin’s Press, which has published every Stephanie Plum novel since 1996 and just released the newest #1 NYT bestseller, SIZZLING SIXTEEN. Per the wispily sourced piece, SMP allegedly turned down Evanovich’s hoped-for contract extension of $50 million for […]
eNews: Google Goes Dutch, Maps Location to Literature; eBooks for Oprah iPad app; and more
Google is partnering with the National Library of the Netherlands to scan more than 160,000 books, which constitutes nearly the library’s entire collection of out-of-copyright books written during the 18th and 19th centuries, and make them available on both Google Books and the library’s website. In addition, Google has launched a joint project with several institutions, including UC Berkeley and and the University of Southhampton, to map out the relationship between location and literature via Google Earth.Inside Google BooksGuardian The iPad app for O, the Oprah Magazine that Hearst is expected to roll out sometime this fall will, according to […]
People and Announcements
Dan Smetanka has been named Editor-at-large for both Counterpoint and Soft Skull Press. Previously he was a senior editor with Phoenix Books, and brings over six titles originally on the now-closed publisher’s schedule to Counterpoint, starting with 51/50: The Magical Adventures of a Single Life by Kristen McGuiness, due for publication on August 31. Smetanka will remain in Los Angeles and will acquire fiction, narrative nonfiction, memoir, current events, and history titles. Brin Stevens has joined Velveteen Films to help launch their new book-to-film department. VarietyBarnes & Noble is partnering with Blackboard through its new NOOKStudy program that “aims to […]
BBC Sales Majority Stake of Audiobooks Arm to AudioGo LTD
BBC Worldwide has sold an 85% stake in BBC Audiobooks, including the Rhode Island-based American division, to AudioGo Limited, a group of investors gathered by a trio of former PolyGram executives. Following the sale, BBC Audiobooks America will trade as AudioGo, and will continue to publish BBC-sourced content under the BBC Audio imprint.Guardian