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 […]
Authors
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 […]
People, Etc.
Abrams will launch Appleseed Books, a new imprint geared towards babies, toddlers, and preschoolers, in Spring 2012. The imprint will publish 8-10 titles annually, mixing board books, novelty books, and young picture books as originals, reprints or branded series. The winners of the Bancroft Prize for History are Eric Foner‘s The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery; Sara Dubow‘s Ourselves Unborn and Christopher Tomlins‘ Freedom Bound. Each author will receive $10,000. Managing a Dental Practice: The Genghis Khan Way by Michael R. Young won the Diagram Prize for the year’s oddest book title. BookNet Canada will launch its interactive […]
People, Etc.
Chronicle Books has appointed Ginee Seo as director of children’s publishing, effective May 12. Previously she was VP and editorial director of Atheneum, where she had her own imprint. Mindy Im has joined the Book Industry Study Group as its marketing director, a newly created position, responsible for membership outreach, media relations, and overall organization branding, as well as general project management across a wide scope of BISG activities. Previously she was Associate Director of Marketing at Hachette Book Group. At Ruckus Media, Jason Root has been named Chief Content Officer and Jeff Zakim joins the company as its marketing […]