Hachette Book Group has announced a new structure for their sales force under recently-hired evp and chief marketing and sales officer Evan Schnittman that will “bring the sales and marketing functions in line with the changing book market – unifying print and digital sales, and integrating research and analytics into HBG’s overall sales strategy.” The company underscores that they are not “reducing headcount as part of the re-alignmen,” and the new structure creates some new positions to be filled shortly. In the internal announcement, Schnittman explains balancing “changes that allow us to do what we do best – create massive […]
Agency News
People, Etc.: Remembering Wendy Weil
Wendy Weil, 72, died September 22 at her country home in West Cornwall, CT. Her career as an agent spanned more than 40 years and she was president of the Wendy Weil Literary Agency, which she founded in 1987, counting Rita Mae Brown, Andrea Barrett, Mark Helprin, Alice Walker, Anthony Doerr, Phillip Lopate, and Amity Gaige among the agency’s clients. Donations in her name may be made to Teachers & Writers Collaborative. Plans for a memorial service will be announced in early fall. Emily Forland and Emma Patterson and long-time office manager Ann Torrago remain at the agency and plan […]
VBK To Become Independent; United Agents Negotiates to Acquire AP Watt
There are two big international publishing developments. Dutch and Belgian publishing conglomerate Veen Bosch & Keuning (VBK) will become an independent company, owned by management and staff, on November 1, buying their freedom from the NDC|VBK Publishing Group. ING Bank is supplying some of the financing and will hold a minority interest in the company. VBK was formed in 2001 with the merger of Peat Publishers Group and Bosch & Keuning, and they merged with Northern Daily Combination (NDC) in 2005. Their units include Ambo Anthos, Atlas-Contact, De Fontein, Kok Ten Have, and Luitingh-Sijthoff, and comprise all of NDC/VBK’s trade publishing […]
People, Etc.
Bloomsbury India will start publishing in November, drawing on titles from the company’s UK and US lists. Rajiv Beri is managing director; Diya KarHazra is trade publisher, and Amit Bhatia is academic and professional publisher. Douglas Markham, recently fired by Books-a-Million from his position as evp and chief administrative officer, alleges through attorney Mark White that “for some time, BAMM has made it known to our client that the company did not support his service to the US Navy.” Markham is a captain, and as BAMM had reported previously, was on leave for part of 2009 while on active duty […]
People: Ash Green, 84, Dies
Knopf announced Wednesday morning the death of Ashbel Green, “a former vice president and beloved senior editor at Knopf,” on Tuesday night, near his home in Connecticut. Sonny Mehta said, “Ash was a prodigious talent, one of the most significant editorial figures in modern publishing, famous for his breadth of reading and grasp of history. Many of us had the good fortune of learning a great deal about the business from him. He was a beloved colleague, and his contributions to our company – an esteemed editorial legacy – are part of what still define us today.” Green started at […]
People: Christopher Little Joins Forces With Curtis Brown
The Christopher Little Agency has entered into a new affiliation with Curtis Brown, effective immediately. The Bookseller reports that Little himself will continue to operate independently, but Curtis Brown will now take responsibility for administering related contracts and selling clients’ translation rights. Little said in a statement that he is “delighted with this arrangement as it allows both me and my team the flexibility to expand the creative arm of my agency. We have a lot of new work in progress and announcements will be forthcoming.” Curtis Brown chairman Jonathan Lloyd added: “I am thrilled to be working with Christopher […]