Yesterday the Smart Bitches blog reported on two former Dorchester authors, Jana DeLeon and Leslie Langrty–both represented by agent Kristin Nelson–who said that the publisher had reverted rights to their books but continued to sell ebook versions. Both authors and agent Nelson said they have contacted the house multiple times asking for the ebooks to be removed from sale with no effect, and they recently sent DMCA takedown notices to etailers including Amazon and BN.com, so far with no effect. (In Langtry’s case, not only does she say Dorchester was selling her ebook without rights, but they also offered it […]
Authors
CIA Sues Former Undercover Agent for Publishing In Breach of Secrecy Agreement
Bill Gertz at the Washington Times reports that the CIA has filed a breach of contract lawsuit against the pseudonymous author Ishmael Jones over publication of his 2008 book THE HUMAN FACTOR: Inside the CIA’s Dysfunctional Intelligence Culture (Encounter Books). The agency alleges that Jones, a former deep-cover agent working in the Middle East and Europe, puyblished “a book without the agency’s permission and in violation of his secrecy agreement.” Jones say that, rather than reviewing the book and suggesting changes, the agency essentially wanted none of it published. The paper says the suit was filed in an Eastern Virginia […]
Xiaobo Wins Nobel Peace Prize
Literary critic, writer, and political activist Liu Xiaobo, who is serving an 11-year sentence in a Chinese prison, has won the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize “for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee said. The Chinese government condemned the award, and state media immediately blacked out the news and Chinese government censors blocked Nobel prize reports from Internet websites. “We hope the Chinese authorities receive this wise decision by the Nobel Committee as the rest of the world will receive it–as recognition of the power of its citizens to guide and shape […]
After Further Apologies, Franzen Misprint Still Doesn’t Make Sense
With each additional story the misprinting of FREEDOM only gets fuzzier. Harper UK ceo Victoria Barnsley told the Telegraph over the weekend, “I’d like to apologise profusely to Jonathan, his readers and our customers that our first edition of Freedom does not reflect the author’s final corrected version of the novel…. We are hugely appreciative of Jonathan’s patience and utter professionalism over this.” Yet the publisher continues to blame the typesetter, Palimpsest, for sending the wrong file to the printer–implying that the publisher didn’t send final files, or review proofs before going to press. The same pesky file problem also […]
Rowling to Appear on Oprah
J.K. Rowling did a “wide-ranging interview” with Oprah Winfrey in Edinburgh that will air this Friday, October 1. The announcement says her remarks include addressing the pressures of sudden stardom: “You ask about the pressure. At that point, I kept saying to people, yeah I’m coping…but the truth was there were times when I was barely hanging on by a thread.”
People, Awards, Etc.
Managing director of De Fontein/Tirion in Holland Geneviève Waldmann will also runs VBK’s Kosmos as of October 1, though both houses “will maintain their separate identities.” Later this year De Fontein/Tirion will relocate to Utrecht to join with Kosmos physically. Senior publicity manager at William Morrow Jennifer Slattery has left her position to travel to Australia for the next 6 months. Judith Merkle Riley, author of six historical novels (Vision of Light, In Pursuit of the Green Lion, The Water Devil, The Oracle Glass, The Serpent Garden and The Master of All Desires) and a professor of political science at […]