At the LAT Festival of Books, the paper awarded its annual book prizes: Biography Laura Hillenbrand, Unbroken (Random House Current Interest Michael Lewis, The Big Short (Norton) Fiction Jennifer Egan, A Visit from the Goon Squad (Knopf) Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction Peter Bognanni, The House of Tomorrow (Amy Einhorn/Putnam) Graphic Novel Adam Hines, Duncan the Wonder Dog: Show One (Adhouse Books) History Thomas Powers, The Killing of Crazy Horse (Knopf) Mystery / Thriller Tom Franklin, Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter (William Morrow) Poetry Maxine Kumin, Where I Live (Norton) Science & Technology Oren Harman, The Price of Altruism: George […]
Authors
People, Etc.
Laura Hazard Owen will join paidContent as a staff writer covering books and digital publishing beginning in mid-May. Previously she was the editorial manager of Publishing Trends. Judy Courtade will join Perseus Distribution as associate director, client services. Her most recent position was sales director for Black Dog & Leventhal and prior to that she was vp, sales director at Random House Jared Bland will join House of Anansi Press as managing editor on July 4. He is currently managing editor for The Walrus. Simon & Schuster will take over sales, distribution and fulfillment in the United States, Canada and open […]
Robert B. Parker Estate Taps New Writers to Continue Spenser and Jesse Stone Series
Putnam announced that two series by bestselling mystery writer Robert B. Parker, who died in January 2010, will continue in the hands of new writers. Producer and screenwriter Michael Brandman will write the first new Parker brand book, ROBERT B. PARKER’S KILLING THE BLUES, which continues the Jesse Stone series and which will publish on September 13. Brandman already has considerable experience with the character as he co-wrote and co-produced the television movies featuring Tom Selleck as Jesse Stone. Ace Atkins, whose last few novels have been published by Putnam (and who begins a new series of his own with […]
eNews: e-Royalty Escalators; Sony Tablets On the Way; Product Placement; and More
Some UK agents claim to the Bookseller that they have negotiated e-royalty escalators and expect this move “will be the norm, not the exception” in the future, but it sounds more like an aspiration than a well-documented accomplishment. Blake Friedmann agent Oliver Munson is the only one saying on the record they’ve already done this: “We’ve certainly had e-book escalators in a number of contracts….. I can’t realistically envisage the much-trumpeted 25% net receipts remaining the benchmark for much longer either.” Piers Blofeld at Sheil Land also says “I have negotiated an escalator, but not with one of the big four. That would be […]
Today’s Mortenson: AG Investigates, Pakistani Threatens Suit
Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock’s has launched a preliminary inquiry into the practices of the Central Asia Institute, the charity established by Greg Mortenson to fund schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He said in a statement, “my office will not jump to any conclusions — but we have a responsibility to make sure charitable assets are used for their intended purposes.” (A spokesperson for the office told the AP it “has not reached the level of a full-scale investigation” yet.) AP Separately, Mansur Khan Mahsud, the man who works at a Pakistani think tank but was described in THREE CUPS […]
A Few More Servings of Controversy and Questions
The controversy surrounding Greg Mortenson, his book THREE CUPS OF TEA, and his charity the Central Asia Institute continues to grow and expand in unforseen ways. Author Jon Krakauer, whose accusations were the centerpiece of what was offered on Sunday night as 60 Minutes’ own investigation, has written a 75-page book on the same subject, THREE CUPS OF DECEIT: How Greg Mortenson, Humanitarian Hero, Lost His Way. It’s the launch ebook for Byliner.com, which is providing free PDFs through April 20 (and promises that all author proceeds will go, yes, to charity: the Stop Girl Trafficking Project). That provokes all […]