Samantha Shannon’s just-published fantasy debut THE BONE SEASON, already the beneficiary of a great deal of advance buzz, will receive an extra boost as a result of being the inaugural pick of The Today Show’s new Book Club. Shannon’s publisher Bloomsbury told the NYT that retailer orders “roughly doubled” when they were told of the selection. The Today Show tried another version of its Book Club about a decade ago before letting it fade away quietly, but current plans appear to be more ambitious. Selections by the show will be made every four to five weeks, with books “emblazoned with […]
Authors
New Books: Eggers, Murakami In English, Amazon’s Icons, First Alibis
Dave Eggers has published the hardcover editions of his own books since 2002 through his company McSweeney’s Books, long before it was indie-fashionable — and fueled by a paperback co-publishing arrangement with Vintage and international licenses with traditional publishers. His latest novel, THE CIRCLE, has just been listed for publication October 8 — with the hardcover coming this time from Knopf. It’s said to be a co-publication with McSweeney’s as well, though the listing (and bookseller metadata) only credits Knopf. More formal information is expected later today. Last month, McSweeney’s announced the sale of their archives to The Harry Ransom […]
People, Etc.
Director of publicity for Bloomsbury Children’s and Walker Children’s Katy Hershberger is leaving. She will start next week as an associate director of publicity for Simon & Schuster Children’s, as well as the Atheneum, and Margaret McElderry Books imprint. Following the sale of AP Watt to United Agents late last year, Derek Johns will retire at the end of November. He has been at AP Watt since 1992. At Harlequin’s Mira, Tara Parsons has been promoted to editorial director. Casey Maloney joined Picador as senior publicist. She was most recently a publicist at Penguin, working on the Gotham, Avery, Viking […]
People, Etc.
David Inman will return to Quarto in September as managing director of their UK publishing group, Aurum. He is currently sales and marketing director at Templar, prior to which he was sales and marketing director Quarto. Former senior editor at Ballantine and literary agent Pamela Dean Strickler, 53, died July 18 from cancer. Strickler spent sixteen years at Ballantine before leaving to start her own agency, specializing in romance, women’s fiction, and historical fiction. The Dayton Literary Peace Prize’s lifetime achievement award has gone to Wendell Berry. He tells the AP: “As a poet and fiction writer, my goal was to write […]
People, Etc.
Catherine Onder will join Bloomsbury Children’s on September 3 as editorial director, reporting to publishing director Cindy Loh. Most recently she was senior editor at Disney Hyperion. Loh says in the announcement: “Cat’s publishing vision perfectly dovetails with Bloomsbury’s plans for the future. We have three ambitious new lines launching next year and a fresh, new focus. I can’t wait for Cat to lead our team and grow the list in even more exciting directions.” The latest “cover reveal” is for Sue Monk Kidd’s January 7, 2014 release, THE INVENTION OF WINGS. The 14-title longlist for the FT/Goldman Sachs Business Book […]
People: Expanding S&S Canada, and More
Now that the Canadian government has officially signed off on Simon & Schuster Canada’s expansion of its editorial and publishing activities, the company announced that president Kevin Hanson is taking the additional job of publisher, continuing to report to Michael Selleck. S&S ceo Carolyn Reidy said in a statement that Hanson “is perfectly suited to lead Simon & Schuster Canada in this exciting endeavor, which will increase our ability to publish authors from the entire English-speaking world on a global scale.” In addition, director of sales operations Alison Clarke has been promoted to associate publisher, while Phyllis Bruce will oversee […]