Fox Chapel Publishing has announced three acquisitions that significantly expand the verticals covered by the company, which had been focused on woodworking. They bought crafts and hobby publisher Design Originals, known for their Zentangle series; The Heliconia Press, a publisher of books and magazines on the outdoors (including kayaking and ice fishing); and parenting publisher Plain White Press. Aminatta Forna from Sierra Leone prevailed over David Mitchell and others to win the overall Commonwealth Prize for her novel THE MEMORY OF LOVE. (The book was shortlisted for the Orange Prize, and was an Indie Next selection.) New Zealander Craig Cliff […]
Awards
People, Etc.
Kate Elton will join HarperCollins UK as publisher of Harper Fiction, replacing Lynne Drew, who is giving up the position for personal reasons (though she will continue to edit select authors.) Elton spent the past 15 years at Random House UK, where she was publisher of Cornerstone’s Arrow and Century imprints. Larry Bennett has joined Bookmasters as president of its international sales division, focusing on growing the company’s foreign-language book development and distribution efforts in the US and abroad. Previously he managed Baker & Taylor’s digital print media program. PEN American Center has announced a new award for picture book […]
Authors: Roth Wins Man Booker International, with Controversy; Nesbo Opening Week Sales; and More
Knopf has been positioning Jo Nesbo‘s THE SNOWMAN as its big summer thriller breakout, and they report selling 20,000 total copies so far of the May 10 release – with digital making up as much as 65 percent, at 13,000 units sold. Since every media outlet under the sun has wondered whether Nesbo is “the next Stieg Larsson,” it’s worth noting that THE SNOWMAN exceeded sales of THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO by 2,000 units during the same time frame. “The Larsson comp is significant because it demonstrates how much shift there has been in our business in under […]
Awards
The Quality Paperback Book Club’s New Voices Award went to Paolo Giordano for his novel THE SOLITUDE OF PRIME NUMBERS, and their New Visions Award went to Lisa Miller for HEAVEN. In the UK, The Bookseller Industry Awards were presented last night. The sponsor-laced award names can be a little embarrassing–Quercus is technically the “Bonnier Publishing Publisher of the Year”–so we’ll just present a few shorthanded highlights: Faber & Faber won both Independent Publisher of the Year and the Innovation Prize (for the Touch Press app of The Solar System) Clara Farmer at Chatto & Windus won Imprint and Editor […]
James Frey and Oprah Winfrey Make Amends
Oprah Winfrey is going to stretch two days out of setting her conscience to rest on James Frey before her show goes off the air. Though the conversation was lengthy in Monday’s first installment, together they cover already plowed ground. Frey told Oprah in early 2006 “I think I made a lot of mistakes in writing the book and promoting book” and that remains his theme: “I wrote a book and I published it as something that it wasn’t and I was dishonest in promoting the book,” he said on today’s episode. There is still some of the classic Frey […]
People: Davidar Starts New Publishing House in India, and More
Former Penguin Canada publisher David Davidar, who left the company and the country under a cloud of controversy after sexual harassment allegations, has joined forces with Rupa Publications India to start a new publishing house, the Aleph Book Company. The new venture will begin with a small and select group of fiction and non-fiction titles (evidently mirroring Faber and Faber in the UK.) Said Davidar in a statement: “I am thrilled to join hands with Rupa to launch this venture. We will be looking be ensure that each book we publish makes its mark and to that any title that […]