A number of controversies remain in the news: Author of THE HINDUS Wendy Doniger writes in an NYT op-ed about the circumstances around the withdrawal of her book in India, saying that “I was in high spirits.’ She explains: “The dormant liberal conscience of India was awakened by the stunning blow to freedom of speech that had been dealt by my publisher in giving in to the demands of the claimants, agreeing to take the book out of circulation and pulp all remaining copies.” Doniger points out: “If Mr. Batra’s intention was to keep people from reading the book, it certainly […]
Authors
PEN/Faulkner Finalists
The finalists for this year’s PEN/Faulkner Awards were announced in Washington this morning: Daniel Alarcon, AT NIGHT WE WALK IN CIRCLES (Riverhead) Percival Everett, PERCIVAL EVERETT BY VIRGIL RUSSELL (Graywolf) Karen Joy Fowler, WE ARE ALL COMPLETELY BESIDE OURSELVES (Putnam) Joan Silber, FOOLS (Norton) Valerie Trueblood, SEARCH PARTY: Stories of Rescue (Counterpoint) The winner will be announced in early April and honored at a ceremony at the Folger Library on May 10.
Another Doniger Book, ON HINDUISM, Also Pulled in India
Weeks after Wendy Doniger’s 2009 book THE HINDUS was withdrawn from sale in India after Penguin India settled a lawsuit with the group Shiksha Bachao Andolan Samiti alleging the book’s contents were “derogatory and offensive to Hinduism,” another book by Doniger has been pulled from bookstores after the same group complained it was “malicious and offending.” The Times of India reports bookshops across Bangalore received calls from representatives of Aleph Book Company seeking return of all copies of Doniger’s ON HINDUISM. Aleph confirmed they were recalling copies of the book, published in 2013: “We don’t want to get involved in any […]
People: NYT’s Julie Bosman Leaves Publishing Beat As Paper’s Midwest Correspondent, and More
After four years of covering publishing at the New York Times, Julie Bosman is rotating to her “dream job” of working as a Midwest correspondent for the paper in April, based in their Chicago office. (Bosman grew up in Wisconsin.) The memo from national editor Alison Mitchell and deputy national editor Ethan Bronner, reproduced by Capital New York, does not indicate who will take over the publishing beat. In other personnel news, Readerlink svp, marketing and inventory Tara Catogge is moving to Quarto Publishing Group USA as vp, sales director, Publishing Trends reports. Shimul Tolia has been named president of Bonnier […]
Hilary Clinton to Keynote AAP Meeting
With former secretary of state Hillary Clinton‘s new memoir set for publication on June 1, she will appear at the Association of American Publishers’ annual meeting on March 19 in New York. AAP ceo Tom Allen says, “Hillary Clinton’s unprecedented public service has been marked by tireless commitment to improving learning, quality of life and opportunities for people worldwide. These are priorities shared by our member publishers and reflected in the high-quality works they produce. We are proud to have her address our community at our signature annual event.”
People, Etc.
At William Morrow, Kate Nintzel has been promoted to executive editor. At Candlewick, Mary Lee Donovan has been promoted to editorial director. At becker&mayer!, Dana Youlin has been promoted to editorial manager, Delia Greve has been promoted to senior editor, and Nicole Burns Ascue is now associate editor. In the UK, Anna Valentine will re-join Orion in May as publishing director, non-fiction, reporting to Amanda Harris, newly promoted to deputy publisher. Valentine was most recently publishing director at HarperCollins UK. Mavis Gallant, 91, one of Canada’s most distinguished short story writers and literary figures, died Tuesday morning in Paris, where […]