Brian Ulicky has been named publicity manager for Blue Rider Press, starting September 6. He was most recently at Simon & Schuster, also as a publicity manager. Simon & Schuster Children’s has announced a number of new hires and promotions. Ariel Colletti has moved to the Atheneum imprint, where she will remain an assistant editor, and editorial assistant Dani Young will also oversee the coordinating of all three imprints’ paperback conversions, repackages, as well as managing the back ad library. In addition, Amy Rosenbaum has joined as an editorial assistant, having recently completed the Columbia Publishing Course. Penguin rep Ann […]
Authors
An Unblurred Photo Pits Random House Against the CIA
In 2005, Random House Inc. imprint Presidio Press published onetime CIA agent Gary Schroen’s First In: An Insider’s Account of How the CIA Spearheaded the War on Terror in Afghanistan to some fanfare and minimal controversy. For four years, and for three different editions, that’s how things remained. Then the mass market edition unblurred a photo of covert CIA agent John Peppe, who was involved in one of the agency’s Afghanistan missions, that was originally blurred in the hardcover, ebook and trade paper editions. That one change by the publisher set off an odyssey of lawsuits, accusations of invasion of […]
People, Etc.
OverDrive has hired Brian Gurewitz as director of content sales. He was formerly president of library sales for Random House’s Books on Tape. Katie O’Callaghan is joining the Harper as associate director, marketing, working across all of the Harper imprints including Harper, Harper Business, and Broadside Books. She was most recently senior marketing manager at Ballantine Bantam Dell. The Los Angeles Times book review will no longer employ freelance book reviewers or non-staff columnists. LAT spokesperson Nancy Sullivan tells PW, “This was a cost-saving move, strictly related to our budget.” She said “staff writers from outside the book department will take […]
People, Etc.
Maggie Richards has been promoted to deputy publisher at Henry Holt, in addition to her current responsibilities as vp sales and marketing. Simon & Schuster UK senior commissioning editor Francesca Main will move to Picador on September 26 as editorial director, acquiring and publishing commercial literary fiction. RPG game designer Jonathan Tweet [stet] was hired in June by Amazon and is said to be developing a “social game”–indicated on his LinkedIn page, which indicates he is “doing social games with a crack team,” and confirmed by Tweet to IndustryGamers. Amazon purchased a downloadable gaming company Reflexive Entertainment in 2008, but […]
Authors, Would-Be Authors, and Subjects: Fonda, Anthony and Milchan
Jane Fonda announced on her blog that QVC cancelled a planned introductory appearance for her new book PRIME TIME. “The network said they got a lot of calls yesterday criticizing me for my opposition to the Vietnam War and threatening to boycott the show if I was allowed to appear. I am, to say the least, deeply disappointed that QVC caved to this kind of insane pressure by some well funded and organized political extremist groups. And that they did it without talking to me first.” Fonda adds “this has gone on far too long, this spreading of lies about […]
Big Opening Day Sales for George RR Martin and Jaycee Dugard
Two of the biggest releases this week more than lived up to advance billing. Random House announced that George R.R. Martin‘s A DANCE WITH DRAGONS sold 298,000 copies on its first day on sale in North America, comprising 170,000 printed copies, 110,000 ebooks and 18,000 audio units. President and publisher Gina Centrello says in a release the sales are “wildly exceeding our retailers’ most optimistic expectations. With George’s outstanding print edition sales, his readers are clearly indicating they want to place this new hardcover on their bookshelves alongside his earlier volumes.” RHPG publisher of digital content Scott Shannon echoes for the […]