becker&mayer! co-founder Jim Becker will retire from the company on November 4. President Mike Oprins will continue to oversee the 30-year-old company Becker founded with Andy Mayer. “Jim may be headed off for new adventures, but the team here continues to honor and uphold the values and creative spirit instilled by its founding members,” Oprins said in the announcement. “In true becker&mayer! fashion, we will continue to produce one-of-a-kind books that delight children and adults, SmartLab Toys will deliver on our mission of helping children explore and learn through play, and our Publishing Services Group will continue to provide outstanding […]
Corporate: Luebbe’s Streaming Service, Oolipo; and More
Germany’s Basti Luebbe is launching its streaming platform, now named oolipo, in the US, UK, and Germany. Oolipo will focus on short-form multimedia content and will soft-launch in April 2016, with a full launch scheduled for next July. “The portal will focus on short-form content in portions ideally suited to mobile reading, especially on smartphones and tablets. This is how oolipo is to reach its target group worldwide.” (While it was a different era, Kobo launched as Shortcovers in 2009, focused on short-from content for mobile reading.) Luebbe ceo Thomas Schirack said in the announcement that the platform’s original name, Beam, […]
People
Mitch Hoffman will join the Aaron Priest Literary Agency as senior agent on November 30. Previously he was executive editor at Grand Central Publishing. Priest said in the announcement: “Mitch is a superb and caring editor with great knowledge of all aspects of the publishing business. All of these qualities will serve to make him one of the more significant agents in our profession.” Scholastic announced a number of recent promotions. In corporate communications, Morgan Baden is promoted to vp, internal communications and social media; Anne Sparkman moves up to director, corporate communications; and Erin Davis is promoted to creative director, […]
In Supreme Court Filing, Apple Claims Appeals Court Decision “Will Harm Competition And The National Economy”
Per the prescribed deadline, Apple filed its petition for a writ of certoriari with the Supreme Court late Wednesday, asking it to review the 2-1 decision by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals upholding the verdict finding Apple guilty of antitrust violations in launching the iBooks Store. Though the docket does not reflect the updated filing, we were able to obtain the 297-page brief, which expands upon the 7-page summary Apple filed with the court last month, with 35 pages of arguments, and many more pages of appendices. (Note this story is based a quick read of that filing.) Apple’s formal […]
People: Ward Promoted to Random House EIC
Andy Ward has been promoted to president and editor-in-chief of the Random House imprint effective immediately, reporting to Susan Kamil, who transfers her EIC duties and remains as publisher. She says the promotion is “in recognition of the bestselling and critically lauded titles he has brought to Random House, his universally acknowledged editorial gifts and publishing skill, the respect he elicits from his authors, peers, and the agent community, and his motivating, nurturing collaboration with his colleagues.” Kamil “will be concentrating on the long-term and day-to-day publishing decisions for our lists, while Ward is “responsible for the daily management of the Random House […]
People, Etc.
Cathy Goldsmith has been appointed to the newly created position of president and publisher of Random House’s Beginner Books line and Dr. Seuss publishing program, effective immediately, continuing to report to Mallory Loehr. Goldsmith was the “creative force” behind this summer’s publication of the posthumous Dr. Seuss book What Pet Should I Get? and worked directly with Ted Geisel — president of Beginner Books from 1957 until his death in 1991 — in the last decades of his life. “With her incredible wealth of knowledge about Dr. Seuss books and her unique experience working directly with Ted, Cathy is the perfect […]