Hudson Booksellers picked AJ Jacobs’ DROP DEAD HEALTHY (Simon & Schuster) as its Book of the Year, selecting an additional ten best in fiction, non fiction, business, and YA/children’s as follows: Fiction Justin Cronin, The Twelve Matthew Dicks, Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend Jonathan Evison, The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl Peter Heller, The Dog Stars Barbara Kingsolver, Flight Behavior Kevin Powers, The Yellow Birds ML Stedman, The Light Between Oceans Jess Walter, Beautiful Ruins G Willow Wilson, Alif the Unseen Nonfiction Mark Bowden, The Finish Christopher Hitchens, Mortality AJ Jacobs, Drop Dead Healthy Jenny Lawson, Let’s […]
Authors
Briefs: Jacques Barzun Dies; Strand Central Park Stalls Up For Grabs; And More
Cultural critic, historian, and essayist Jacques Barzun, 104, died Thursday evening in San Antonio. Barzun was a longtime professor at Columbia University and the author of dozens of books, including TEACHER OF AMERICA (1945), THE HOUSE OF INTELLECT (1959), THE DELIGHTS OF DETECTION (1961), and most recently, FROM DAWN TILL DECADENCE (2000). NYT Obit In a separate bit of news from Pearson, evp for Content Management, North America Dan Lee will become ceo of Pearson Canada on December 31, when current CEO Allan Reynolds retires. The Central Park stalls currently operated by The Strand Bookstore on Fifth Avenue and East […]
People
Ashley Garland has joined Ecco as publicity manager. Previously she was a publicist at the Random House Publishing Group. At Riverhead Books, Claire McGinnis has been promoted to publicity manager; Liz Hohenadel is now senior publicist; and Glory Plata is now publicist. Klaus Wolterstoff was recently promoted to vp, content and technology at Wm. B. Eerdmans, where will continue to supervise the company’s production department and manage information technology while also taking a more active leadership role in Eerdmans’ ongoing transition into the ebook market. Wolterstoff has also joined the Eerdmans executive leadership team and board of directors. Fiction writers […]
People, Etc.
Shire Publications’ recently-hired US sales and marketing director Robert Kempe died on Tuesday from complications arising from cancer (just diagnosed in August). The publisher says, “Though Robert joined the company only months ago, his contribution to and impact upon it were incalculable. Swiftly assuming control of Shire in the North American market, he made it immediately and abundantly clear that we had found someone who would not only fulfil our expectations and requirements for the role but exceed them in every regard.” At Harlequin, Miranda Indrigo has taken on the new role of author liaison, concierge services. She was most recently […]
People
Hodder & Stoughton announced a reorganization that creates two divisions within the group, “designed to strengthen the appeal and focus of its publishing and to take advantage of structural changes in the publishing industry.” The new division, called John Murray Press, will comprise John Murray, Hodder Faith, Consumer Learning, Two Roads and Saltyard Books–to be run by former Hodder & Stoughton publisher Nick Davies, who is rejoining the company in January as managing director from his current post as Canongate publisher. The Hodder & Stoughton division, comprising Hodder & Stoughton general fiction and non-fiction, Coronet and Sceptre, will have Carolyn Mays […]
WIMPY KID Goes Digital, With eBooks Available on October 30
The first six books in Jeff Kinney’s DIARY OF A WIMPY KID series, which have sold more than 75 million copies worldwide, will finally be available in ebook format as of October 30, while the newly arriving seventh volume, DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: THE THIRD WHEEL, will be published simultaneously in print and digital on November 13. “The decision came after a lot of thought and deliberation,” Kinney told the AP. “I am very excited about this. It feels like the time is right.” Published under a new banner of Wimp-E-Books, the digital editions will list for $13.95, at […]