The NYT follows-up the WSJ piece on Sourcebooks’ decision to postpone the ebook release of their new hardcover YA novel Bran Hambric. As we noted in our write-up on Monday, the Times reiterates that every house with a major frontlist fiction release is debating whether to delay publication in ebook form (and some are contemplating much broader shifts in the timing of their ebook releases). Since no one is talking about it on the record, the Times story doesn’t add much that you don’t already know. Interesting, in a quirky way, is this paragraph: “For now, Amazon is taking a […]
Agency News
People
Riccardo Cavellero is leaving Random House’s Spanish-language joint venture Random House Mondadori after eights years as ceo at the end of this year. Next January he will become general manager of Mondadori’s trade-book business worldwide, based in Milan. Markus Dohle and Mondadori ceo Maurizio Costa write that “we are committed to appointing a new ceo who will build upon our strengths as print-book publishers and also will lead us to become the No. 1 Spanish-language digital-book publisher. Kate Travers has joined powerHouse Books as marketing director. Most recently she was strategic marketing director at the Literary Ventures Fund and marketing […]
People: Weisbach Gets Three New Associates
Rob Weisbach Creative Management announced a relationship with three new senior associates, Erin Cox, David Groff, and Jake Bauman, who are becoming part of the company’s “virtual team.” (They work collaboratively–“operating independently but in collaboration”–though not from the same physical office space.) Cox will represent authors, offer publicity expertise, and provide publicity and promotion services for outside clients, and work with corporate clients including Conde Nast Digital and the Frankfurt Book Fair. She was most recently book publishing director at the New Yorker. Independent editor Groff will develop a client list and provide editorial guidance, while offering editorial services to […]
Freese to Take Over At NBN; Tamblyn Leaves BookNet for Shortcovers
Rich Freese will take over from Jed Lyons as president of NBN as of July 6, working out of Oakland, CA. Lyons will “focus on the book publishing activities of NBN’s parent company, The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group.” (The release says NBN had sales of $100 million, and R&L had sales of $60 million.) Most recently Freese had launched a new distribution enterprise for BookMasters, though he worked at NBN in the late 90s and through 2002. Lyons says in the announcement “Rich Freese is the most knowledgeable, thoughtful, and creative person I know in the book distribution business.” […]
People and Notes
Liza Pulitzer Voges has opened the literary agency Eden Street representing authors and illustrators of children’s books. She was previously at Kirchoff Wohlberg for 25 years where she created and managed their literary department. At Dystel & Goderich Literary Management, Jim McCarthy, has been promoted to senior agent. Chasya Milgrom, who has been with the agency for over three years, has been promoted to royalties manager and agent. The Observer says it has been resolved that the head of Endeavor’s book department Richard Abate will not stay on as part of the merged William Morris Endeavor Entertainment. They say “the […]
Walsh Could Rise In WMA/Endeavor Mash-Up
The Hollywood Reporter says that “among the strongest contenders” for William Morris’s five board seats if the merger with Endeavor goes through are literary department co-head Jennifer Rudolph Walsh–plus president David Wirtschafter, COO Irv Weintraub, motion picture head John Fogelman and ceo Jim Wiatt. Multiple accounts estimate WMA’s revenues at $200 million, and Endeavor’s at about $100 million, though they are slated to have five board seats each. The Wrap says WMA currently has 300 agents and Endeavor employees 75–with unattributed estimates guessing that as many as 100 agents will be fired and/or leave.HR