Three days before the opening of the Melbourne Writers Festival, UNESCO has named Melbourne as its second City of Literature. Edinburgh became the first in 2004. Arts Minister Lynne Kosky said the decision was confirmation of the value of a lot of people who have been working in the literature industry – writers and publishers and those who support writing and publishing. “It gives confirmation to them not only about the work they’ve done but the quality and also the importance of their work to our city and why they are a critical component of it. Also what it (the […]
'Twilight' Movie Pushed Up to November 21
With the film version of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince pushed back from a Thanksgiving release to July 2009, a new release date opened up for the adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight, which will be pushed up to November 21.Newsday
Waterstone Takes over Books Etc. Stores
Waterstone’s will take over eight Books Etc stores in the London region after striking a deal with Borders, Books Etc’s parent company. The stores’ leases will be transferred from Books Etc to Waterstone’s, which has paid nothing for the sites. The branches that will be transferred are Fleet Street, London Wall, Holborn, Wandsworth, Uxbridge, Finchley and two sites in Canary Wharf.Bookseller
Craigslist Ad Solicits Fake Author Autographs
A recent ad on Craigslist is soliciting people to sign copies of a newly released book on behalf of two authors who wish to remain anonymous. These “ghost signings” might net up to 14 lucky people $25 per 200 books signed, which has Gawker wondering: “with all the celebrity titles in circulation, this surely can’t be a brand-new phenomenon, but has anyone ever been quite so cheap and brazen about it?” Gawker
Announcements
In McGraw-Hill’s Business editorial group, Donya Dickerson has been promoted to senior editor. She was an editor. At Simon & Schuster Children’s, Craig Mandeville has been promoted to Vice President, General Manager for Adult and Children’s Publishing. Frank Totaro has been appointed to the position of Vice President, Deputy Publisher, Novelty and Licensed Publishing, effective immediately, and Alyson Grubard has been named Director of Licensing and Brand Management, reporting to Totaro. HarperFiction UK has promoted deputy publishing director Wayne Brookes to publishing director, reporting to Julia Wisdom, with Voyager’s Sarah Hodgson also moving up to deputy publishing director, reporting to […]
Awards
The Mercantile Library has selected FSG President Jonathan Galassi as the recipient of its 2008 Maxwell E. Perkins Award for Distinguished Achievement in the Field of Fiction The award will be presented at the Mercantile Library’s annual dinner on December 1. The inaugural Edwin Morgan International Poetry Competition’s £5,000 first prize was awarded to Kate Miller for her poem, After the Ban. Larry Doyle, Patricia Marx, and Simon Rich are the finalists for this year’s Thurber Prize for American Humor.