A number of agents and authors have been posting more details about–and further dissatisfaction with–the offer to Night Shade authors to modify their contracts and allow them to be transferred to Skyhorse and Start Publishing. As is clear now, Skyhorse seeks to acquire print rights only, and Start Publishing is looking to take over ebook rights. The latter is run by Jarred Weisfeld as a subsidiary of Start Media, “a well-capitalized privately held media company” that he says “is looking to acquire six publishing companies this year.” Weisfeld, who also is an agent at Objective Entertainment, says Start Publishing is “completely separate from […]
Authors
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Lisa Vanterpool has joined Inkwell Literary Management as public relations & social media strategist. Previously she was at Blake Friedmann, where she focused on strategic social media development and publicity. At the Simon & Schuster imprint, Emily Graff has been named associate editor. Ann Hulbert will join the Atlantic as books & culture editor in June, the Observer reports, as part of an attempt “to beef up their culture coverage and help expand and re-envision their online book coverage.” Hulbert was previously an editor at Slate and the New Republic and is currently a Spencer Fellow at Columbia Journalism School. George […]
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The new controlling owners of the Agatha Christie estate have signed with William Morris Endeavor for exclusive representation of all facets of the estate, “expanding its reach across television, film and digital media.” Acorn Productions acquired the 64 percent stake in Agatha Christie Ltd that had been owned by Chorion in February 2012, calling it “the most important deal in the company’s history.” The Agatha Christie family owns the remaining 36 percent. Christie’s literary works include over 80 novels and short story collections and 19 plays, which they say continue to sell at a rate of over three million books per year […]
People, Awards, Etc.
Judges have been announced for this year’s National Book Awards, the first time that the prizes expand their judging ranks beyond exclusively writers to include other literary tastemakers. The fiction judges include Elliott Bay Book Company buyer Rick Simonson and former NYTBR editor Chip McGrath (who chairs the panel), along with Charles Baxter, Gish Jen and Rene Steinke. The nonfiction panel features former Harcourt publisher and current vp of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Andre Bernard, alongside Jabari Asim; M.G. Lord; Lauren Redniss; and Eric Sundquist. The young people’s literature panel includes Books of Wonder owner Peter Glassman and curator […]
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Editor-at-large at Random House Children’s Books Jim Thomas will leave the company on April 5 to write full-time and spend more time with his family. Thomas will continue to work with RHCB and several authors on a freelance basis. At Knopf Books for Young Readers, Michele Burke has been promoted to senior editor and Allison Worchte moves up to editor. In addition, Loira Walsh has joined RHCB as a junior designer. Previously she was a design assistant at Sixth & Spring. McGraw-Hill Education hired media and information industry veteran Mark Dorman as president of McGraw-Hill Education International. Most recently, he […]
People, Awards, Etc.
Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe, 82, “one of Africa’s most widely read novelists and one of the continent’s towering men of letters,” died after a brief illness, according to agent Andrew Wylie. His THINGS FALL APART is said to have sold over 8 million copies and been published in more than 50 languages. HarperCollins svp, publishing transformation Carolyn Pittis is leaving the company on March 29 after more than two decades to work as a private change management consultant. In her time at Harper Pittis served a number of roles, from book production, managing editorial, business development, and sales to consumer forecasting and supply chain management, […]