Molly Ker Hawn has been appointed director of the Bent Agency UK. In Germany, Constanze Neumann takes over at Aufbau and the imprint Blumenbar as editor-in-chief for literary fiction on December, replacing Gunnar Cynybulk. She was editor-in-chief at Hoffmann & Campe until 2016, and has been working as a literary agent. At Catapult, Morgan Jerkins has been promoted to associate editor of the magazine, while Megha Majumdar moves up to associate editor for the magazine and books. It was early August when we reported that Donna Tartt had left longtime agent Amanda Urban at ICM for representation in the US and […]
Awards
Briefs: Awards, And More
Awards The UK’s Goldsmiths prize for fiction “that breaks the mould or extends the possibilities of the novel” has gone to Nicola Barker for novel H(a)ppy (Heinemann). Retailer WH Smith picked Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman as their fiction book of the year, with The Little Big Things by Henry Fraser as their nonfiction book of the year. Canada’s Writers’ Trust literary awards were presented, with winners including Brother by David Chariandy for fiction, and Life on the Ground Floor: Letters from the Edge of Emergency Medicine by James Maskalyk for nonfiction. The Jewish Book Council’s Natan Book Award, a […]
National Book Awards: Ward Repeats As Fiction Winner, Gessen, Bidart, Benway, and More
At the National Book Awards on Wednesday evening, 15 of 20 finalists were women and three of the four awards went to women as well. The fiction prize went to Sing, Unburied, Sing (Scribner) by Jesmyn Ward, who won also won in 2011 for Salvage the Bones. In her speech, Ward said, “You looked at my poor, my black, my southern women, and you saw yourself. I am deeply honored to each and every one of you who looks at my work and sees something in it.” Masha Gessen’s The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia (Riverhead) was awarded the nonfiction prize. She opened her […]
People, Etc.
Ralf Markmeier will join Harper Germany as managing director and publisher starting January 15. He succeeds Thomas Beckmann, who will retire in February, after 18 years with Harlequin and Harper. Markmeier was previously with Random House Germany, which he joined in 2003. Harper Collins cdo and evp of international publishing Chantal Restivo-Alessi said, “Ralf’s extensive trade publishing knowledge and management skills, gained at the biggest publishing conglomerate in Germany, will help us continue our growth trajectory.” Restivo-Alessi also commended Beckmann’s “outstanding service over the last two decades” and added: “During his career, Thomas consistently demonstrated his deep understanding of book […]
People, Etc.
Jenica Nasworthy has been promoted to managing editor and Katrina Groover moves up to senior production editor for Simon & Schuster Children’s and Paula Wiseman Books. In addition, Clare McGlade has been promoted to senior production editor for Atheneum and Margaret K. McElderry Books, while Rebecca Vitkus is now associate production editor for Aladdin and Simon Pulse. At Soho Press, Mark Doten has been promoted to vp, executive editor. Faye Bi joins Holiday House as publicity manager. Most recently, she was senior publicist at Simon & Schuster. Katie Cooper has joined Sourcebooks as digital content specialist. She was previously social media manager at Wyzant. […]
Briefs: Kirkus Prize Winners, and More
KF Literary Scouting has been appointed scout for Tchelet in Israel and Eksmo in Russia. Awards The winners of the Kirkus Prize were announced Thursday night at a ceremony in Austin, TX. Lesley Nneka Arimah’s What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky (Riverhead) won for fiction, and Jack E. Davis’s The Gulf (Liveright) took the nonfiction category. The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline (DCB) won in Young Readers’ Literature. Best Of The renamed New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Books Awards announced its ten best books of the year: Muddy, written by Michael Mahin, illustrated by Evan Turk Frida […]