Little, Brown made much hay of publishing David Foster Wallace‘s unfinished novel The Pale King on April 15, since that day is tax day (except this year it’s not, thanks to a tardy Congress) and the book features the day-to-day thoughts and deeds of IRS agents. But the book’s actual on-sale date was March 22, which is how Amazon, BN.com and other online retailers started shipping copies to customers – even though most independent bookstores weren’t selling the book yet or hadn’t even received copies, believing or having been told the book was embargoed. “I don’t really understand the confusion,” […]
Authors
Finalist Le Carre Withdraws Name From Consideration of Man Booker International Prize
Philip Roth, Marilynne Robinson, Anne Tyler, and Philip Pullman are 13 authors shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize, announced yesterday evening. John Le Carre, who was also shortlisted for the prize, immediately asked for his name to be withdrawn from consideration. “I am enormously flattered to be named as a finalist of 2011 Man Booker International Prize,” he said in a statement. “However I do not compete for literary prizes and have therefore asked for my name to be withdrawn.” Prize chair Rick Gekoski said Le Carre’s name would remain on the list, adding that the prize committee “are disappointed that […]
People, Etc.
David Saracco has joined codeMantra as director of strategic accounts and business Development. Previously he was VP ePublishing and business development for Impelsys. Shaun Tan has won the Astrid Lindgren Prize, the largest children’s literature award. The Australian Crime novelist and critic HRF Keating, best known for his Inspector Ghote novels, died Sunday at the age of 84. Telegraph Obit Book Expo America announced the convention will have an increased digital presence on the show floor thanks to the IDPF-sponsored Digital Zone, which will feature 17 booths and 16 kioks over approximately 5000 square feet. The IDPF’s two day conference […]
Catherine Cookson Estate To Sell Digital Books Direct, and Other eNews
Add the estate of Catherine Cookson to the growing number of authors selling digital backlist titles directly (and, in this instance, exclusively through Amazon in the US and UK.) The author’s literary representatives at Sheil Land formed a separate company, Peach Tree Publishing, which will sell 91 Cookson titles as ebooks priced between $1.50 and $5.99. Cookson’s agent Sonia Land engages in some mutual controversy-starting with the Daily Mail by saying she never informed Cookson’s print publishers Transworld or Simon & Schuster of the ebook plan: I haven’t told either firm about the deal and I am sure they are going […]
Briefs: Dorchester Woes Continue; The Brand of Mary Higgins Clark; Penguin Piracy Suit; And More
Dorchester Publishing continues to do its best zombie impression, as a number of authors have learned the ailing company continues to sell digital copies of their work even after they no longer hold the rights, and despite repeated assurances they would stop this practice. Horror writer Brian Keene detailed the situation on his blog, saying that he found unauthorized e-copies of his books under the Dorchester banner selling through various digital outlets. “In the most recent case (iBooks), Dorchester blamed their vendor, Libre Digital, but provided no documentation verifying this. An employee at Apple cast doubt on this explanation. In the […]
St. Martin’s Pays a Reported $2M For Four Books By Amanda Hocking, Self-Publishing’s Reluctant Heroine
This year every week in publishing could be considered eventful, but this week in particular had a special kind of symmetry, as the very publishing house Barry Eisler walked away from to publish on his own brought Amanda Hocking into the fold. Despite sources indicating otherwise a few days ago, St. Martin’s emerged the victor of the auction for Hocking’s new Watersong YA paranormal series, reportedly paying more than $2 million for World English rights (which, of course, includes digital rights, too.) “I’ve done as much with self-publishing as any person can do,” Hocking told the NYT Thursday. “People have […]