The longlist for the Booker Prize was announced Wednesday morning, including titles by five American authors — A LITTLE LIFE (Doubleday/Picador) by Hanya Yanagihara, A SPOONFUL OF BLUE THREAD by Anne Tyler (Knopf/Chatto & Windus), LILA by Marilynne Robinson (FSG/Virago), THE MOOR’S ACCOUNT by Laila Lalami (Pantheon/Periscope) — as well as agent Bill Clegg’s forthcoming debut novel DID YOU EVER HAVE A FAMILY (Scout Press/Jonathan Cape). Only one title, The Chimes by Anna Smaill, does not have an announced US publisher. Four independent publishers have titles on the longlist, including Garnet Publishing’s Periscope imprint, Pushkin Press’s One imprint, both of which appear for the first […]
People
Ann Rule, 84, author of more than 35 bestselling true crime books including The Stranger Beside Me and Small Sacrifices, died July 26 in Seattle from heart failure. Simon & Schuster president & ceo Carolyn Reidy said in a statement: “By deciding to focus her books on the victim, Ann Rule reinvented the true-crime genre, and earned the trust of millions of readers who wanted a new and empathetic perspective on the tragic stories at the heart of her works. She will be remembered not only for her many books, but also for her ongoing and tireless work on behalf […]
People, Etc.
Kaplan ceo Thomas Leppert has resigned, effective August 21, and will be replaced by Andrew Rosen, chairman of Kaplan and evp of its owner Graham Holdings Company. Lepper joined Kaplan in 2013 and “led the expansion of Kaplan’s highly successful international business and a turnaround at Kaplan Test Prep.” Chairman of the parent company Donald Graham said Leppert “has been a huge contributor to every aspect of Kaplan’s worldwide business. We are sorry to lose Tom, but understand why he wanted to leave; the pace of change at Kaplan will continue.” He adds, “No one knows Kaplan and its people better than Andy does.” Jeffrey […]
Amazon Stock Soars On Second Quarter Profit
Amazon reported second quarter results after the close of the market Thursday afternoon. Total sales grew 20 percent to $23.18 billion, while operating income was $464 million (compared to a loss of $15 million a year ago) and net profits were $92 million (compared to last year’s net loss of $126 million). Amazon’s stock has spiked as a result, up over 16 percent to around $560 a share Friday morning, an all-time high. A big chunk of that profit looks to be attributable to the fast-growing, high-margin AWS cloud services business rather than their retail operations. AWS operating income this quarter was $391 million, […]
People
Jennifer M. Brown will join Random House Children’s Books on August 24 as vp, publisher Knopf Books for Young Readers, reporting to Barbara Marcus. Brown, who will “oversee the direction and lead the long-range and daily activities” at the imprint, spent the past eight years as children’s editor for Shelf Awareness and also serves as director of the Center for Children’s Literature at the Bank Street College of Education. “Her background and experience give her, and us, a truly unique point of view that perfectly positions her to lead the gifted Knopf editorial team into the future,” Marcus said in […]
Corporate: Scholastic Ends Year on a Flat Note; Bloomsbury Update
Scholastic reported fourth-quarter and full-year results on Thursday morning. With the recent quarter dominated by their by big EdTech sale to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, sales from continuing operations were marginally below flat at $488 million, with operating income down 12 percent to $33.5 million (attributed primarily to foreign exchange impact in their international division, due to the strong dollar). Among the one-time charges incurred in the quarter was a pretax severance expense of $5.3 million, as part of their ongoing cost reduction and restructuring programs. Full-year sales from continuing operations were $1.64 billion, up 5 percent from $1.56 billion in […]