There’s no question that one segment of the publishing industry–the James Patterson business–remains thriving. The UK’s Independent has him “on target to sell more than 20m books in the US alone” this year, with 10 original Patterson titles launching in the UK during 2008. Patterson tells the paper: “There is a kind of Mickey Mouse way of looking at brands. In particular in the States, a lot of the publishing houses are lost in the Middle Ages, they really don’t have a clue. I remember initially it was like, ‘Oh my God, he’s going to hurt the brand by doing […]
Authors
On DFW
As covered this weekend, author David Foster Wallace, 46, was found dead in his Claremont, CA home on Friday night, having hanged himself. Pomona College, where he was the Roy E. Disney professor of creative writing at Pomona College, will hold a memorial service. Little, Brown publisher Michael Pietsch tells the NYT, “He had a mind that was constantly working on more cylinders than most people, but he was amazingly gentle and kind. He was a writer who other writers looked to with awe.”LATNYT The NYT followed today with a second obituary, this time with some insights from Wallace’s father […]
Agatha Christie Speaks
Chorion, the company that controls the Agatha Christie estate, is announcing the recent discovery of 13 hours of audiotapes made by the author in the early 60s, found “in a dusty cardboard box in one of hero former houses by her only grandson, Mathew Prichard.” The material was eventually used in her autobiography, published posthumously in 1977. Chorion is using the occasion (timed to coincide with the 118th anniversary of her birth) to suggest that they might update that book: “There are bits and pieces of the autobiography that could be reviewed, in light of listening to the tapes.” Christie’s […]
Rowling Wins over RDR, but Judge's Ruling Is Mixed
Judge Robert Patterson agreed that author JK Rowling would face irreparable harm from RDR Books’ proposed publication of the HARRY POTTER LEXICON and ruled in her favor in the copyright infringement suit brought by Rowling and Warner Bros. Patterson said the publisher “had failed to establish an affirmative defense of fair use” and issued a permanent injunction against publication–but since the book had not been issued yet, he awarded minimum statutory damages of $6,750. In the full opinion, Patterson walks a fine line through the nuanced arguments made in the case. He acknowledges that “reference works that share the Lexicon’s […]
'Rich Dad' Suit Settled
Sharon Lechter, former partner of Rich Dad author Robert Kiyosaki, has received an undisclosed sum to settle her suit against Kiyosaki and his wife and has sold Kiyosaki her interest in the Rich Dad Co. AZ Central notes that “Lechter had alleged that the Kiyosakis had enriched themselves, diverted assets and wasted money in a business that she claimed to have helped build from scratch. Lechter also had claimed that she ‘often rewrote large sections’ of books she and Robert Kiyosaki co-authored.” Lechter left the company last year, and her suit was set for trial at the end of December […]
Stephenie Meyer Abandons Final Twilight Book after Internet Leak
Author of this year’s biggest release Stephenie Meyer surprised her fans by posting on her web site that her “partial draft of Midnight Sun was illegally posted on the Internet and has since been virally distributed without my knowledge or permission or the knowledge or permission of my publisher”–and as a result, she has put the new manuscript “on hold indefinitely.” Meyer writes: “My first feeling was that there was no way to continue. Writing isn’t like math; in math, two plus two always equals four no matter what your mood is like. With writing, the way you feel changes […]