Former Weidenfeld & Nicolson publisher Kirsty Dunseath will become publishing director for Doubleday UK, starting March 25 and reporting to fiction publisher Sarah Adams. As of January 1, Nation Books will be renamed Bold Type Books, as the Nation Institute itself is changing its name to Type Media Center. Jon Krakauer has moved to Gersh for representation (while continuing to work with attorney Becky Hall). And correcting yesterday’s representation item on Rupi Kaur, she remains with Suzanne Brandreth at CookeMcDermid for literary representation; ICM will represent Kaur for film, television and theater. Forthcoming Robert Caro‘s next book is about himself rather than Lyndon Johnson, […]
Authors
To Kill A Mockingbird Play Reflects Harper Lee Estate’s Concerns, As Well As Playwright Sorkin’s Touch
In a year with no shortage of strange developments, one of the stranger was the March lawsuit brought by the Harper Lee estate against the producers of new stage version of To Kill A Mockingbird — settled out of court (and thus privately) in May, after production company Rudinplay had countersued the estate and its representative Tonja Carter in April. With the play officially opening this week, over the weekend the NYT provided a detailed assessment of the ways in which the script is likely to have changed since the settlement. By their evaluation, of 80 script elements that Carter […]
People, Etc.
Sara Sargent moves to Random House Children’s as senior executive editor. (She was previously executive editor for Harper Children’s.) Also, Hanna Glidden has been promoted to associate director of pub ops business process and support. At Berkley, Kristine Swartz has been promoted to editor and Sarah Blumenstock has been promoted to associate editor. Julia Ringo has been promoted to associate editor at Farrar, Straus. Roisin Davis has joined Haymarket Books as director of foreign rights. She will also continue as associate agent at Roam Agency. In the UK, Jenny Lord has been promoted to nonfiction publisher for Weidenfeld & Nicolson. Alan Samson expands his role to […]
Mystery Writers of America Withdraws Fairstein’s Grand Master Award
The Mystery Writers of America board “has decided to withdraw the Linda Fairstein Grand Master award” that was announced earlier this week, on Tuesday. They note in a statement, “After profound reflection, the Board has decided that MWA cannot move forward with an award that lacks the support of such a large percentage of our members…. We realize that this action will be unsatisfactory to many. We apologize for any pain and disappointment this situation has caused.” The move came after “the MWA membership began to express concern over the inclusion of Linda Fairstein as a Grand Master, citing controversy in […]
People, Etc.: Obamas, and More
Michelle Obama‘s BECOMING was the second-best-selling book in the UK in its opening week, selling 64,732 hardcovers as tracked by Nielsen Bookscan UK. (That’s a little better than Michael Wolff’s Fire and Fury in its best week in the UK, when it sold almost 60,000 hardcovers.) You may recall that it was initially expected that former president Barack Obama‘s book might be published first, though that notion did not last long. Indeed he told the audience at the Obama Foundation Summit on Monday in Chicago, “Go buy her book right now. This is causing some strain in our marriage. The […]
Oprah Picks “Becoming,” And One Store Books An Appearance
Oprah Winfrey is giving Michelle Obama’s BECOMING an extra boost, picking it for her occasional book club. “This book is everything you wanted to know and so much you didn’t even know you wanted to know,” Winfrey said. “I believe it’s going to spark within you the desire to think about your own becoming.” She added, “It’s so well-written I can hear her voice; I can hear her expressions; I can feel her emotion. What she allows us to see is how she was able to discover, define and then refine her voice.” Winfrey has taped an interview with Obama, […]