After declining media requests for comment about his controversial remarks at the National Book Awards gala, Daniel Handler posted a modest apology on Twitter around noon on Thursday: “My job at last night’s National Book Awards #NBAwards was to shine a light on tremendous writers, including Jacqueline Woodson…and not to overshadow their achievements with my own ill-conceived attempts at humor. I clearly failed, and I’m sorry.” By early Friday morning Handler expanded that to a bigger admission: “My remarks on Wednesday night at #NBAwards were monstrously inappropriate and yes, racist.” He added, “It would be heartbreaking for the #NBAwards conversation […]
Authors
Barnes & Noble Launches Bundling Promo (“Sync Up”), and Adds POD to Nook Press
After a number of quiet experiments over the years bundling print books and ebooks together, Barnes & Noble has launched an extensive holiday bundling promotion under the banner “Sync Up,” letting in-store customers add an ebook version of eligible titles for $4.99 when purchasing the print editions. Seventy “select paperbacks” are eligible, including Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep, Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret Life of Bees, Christina Baker Kline’s Orphan Train and Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander. The savings on the bundle vary by title — with the King ebook selling regularly for $14.99, while the Kline and Gabaldon ebooks already sell for […]
More Amazon, and Publishing
Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter‘s December issue letter is online in advance of the issue itself, in which Keith Gessen “lays out a vivid and highly original account of the almost schoolyard conflict going on now between Amazon and the French-owned publishing giant Hachette.” Carter says Amazon’s response to Hachette “amounts to an economic blockade” and says of Amazon ceo Jeff Bezos, “make no mistake about it: he’s not the underdog in this pitched battle; he is the overdog. The book business is puny compared to its visibility and importance to the nation’s well-being.” Separately, Seattle Weekly has a long and […]
Government Still Pursuing SEAL Author Matt Bissonnette
Former Navy SEAL Matt Bissonnette, whose 2012 book NO EASY DAY (published under the pseudonym Mark Owen) disclosed details of the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden and who is set to publish a new book, NO HERO, under the same pen name on November 10, is under criminal investigation from the Department of Justice for allegedly revealing classified material, his lawyer and federal officials told the NYT. Bissonnette’s lawyer Robert Luskin believes the investigation stems from the book itself, even after “he thought he had reached an agreement in the spring with Justice Department and Pentagon officials to settle […]
Blurb to Launch Recommendations for Independent Publishing Experts
In a little over a week, on November 7, self-publishing platform Blurb will go live with a programmatic answer to one of their most persistent customer requests: Recommendations for freelance publishing professionals. Known as the Dream Team, to be featured under a “Hire an expert” navigational tab on their site, Blurb will start with a recommended set of 50 independent publishing professionals to help creators complete, polish and publish their books. The first phase focuses on the creation process: developmental editors, copy editors, illustrators, proofreaders, and designers. A second phase, still in development, will incorporate the business process: publicists, marketers, […]
People, Etc.: Bush On Bush, and More
Crown has announced rollout plans for 41: A PORTRAIT OF MY FATHER by former president George W. Bush . CBS News will broadcast the first interviews, conducted by Bob Schieffer, on Sunday, November 9 — first on “Sunday Morning” and then on “Face the Nation.” The Today show will feature the author on November 10, and the author and his father interview by Jenna Bush Hager on November 11. Crown has additional broadcast appearances and says, “President Bush will conduct a number of public book signings in the weeks to follow, with details for those events to be announced at a later date.” […]