IDPF executive director Michael Smith will leave the organization shortly “to pursue other opportunities in the digital book space.” He will stay on during the search procress and transition to a replacement, which the organization hopes “will be completed by early January 2011.” At Random House UK, Cornerstone managing director Susan Sandon, Ebury managing director Fiona MacIntyre, Random House UK Children’s managing director Philippa Dickinson, and human resources director Neil Morrison have all been appointed to the company’s main board. CEO Gail Rebuck says in the announcement “this new structure ensures that we harness the strengths and talents at Board […]
Awards
People, Imprints, Awards, Etc.
Lindsay Sagnette will join Crown as senior editor, acquiring hardcover fiction, reporting to Molly Stern and starting November 15. She was most recently an editor at St. Martin’s, following stints at Riverhead and Grove/Atlantic. Jeanette Perez is being promoted to senior editor at Harper One, acquiring primarily non-fiction in the areas of personal growth, health, lifestyle, and memoir. Kristin Daly Rens has been promoted to senior editor at Harper Children’s imprint Balzer & Bray. Atria is launching an imprint in conjunction with music label Cash Money Records, which issues records from Lil Wayne and others. Publishing under Cash Money Content, […]
Melville Has New Objections to Best Translated Sponsorship
Melville House has reframed their “disagreement” with the Best Translated Awards over their acceptance of sponsorship from Amazon to focus on “two essential reasons.” Now they say it’s an objection to conglomerate influence in general rather than Amazon in particular (though they originally called Amazon’s interests “antithetical” to “those of a healthy book culture” and compared taking their money to “medical researchers who take money from cigarette companies”). They write: “The award so far has clearly celebrated something that has been marginalized by the conglomerates…. To that extent, at least, we would have protested any giant conglomerate co-opting this award, […]
People, Distribution, Etc.: Riggio to Address AAP Meeting, and More
The AAP announced that Barnes & Noble chairman Len Riggio will deliver a speech at their annual meeting, which returns to New York, scheduled for March 9, 2011. In personnel news, Alexis Washam has joined Crown Trade Paperbacks as a senior editor, reporting to Tina Pohlman. She was an editor at Penguin. Washam will oversee paperback conversions for Broadway Paperbacks, Three Rivers Press, Crown Business, and Crown Forum, acquire select outside reprints, and acquire and edit trade paperback originals. At Knopf Children’s, Nancy Siscoe has been promoted to senior executive editor, relinquishing her associate publishing director responsibilities and focusing on […]
Awards and People
The shortlist for the Guardian’s First Book Award features works by Nadifa Mohamed, Ned Beauman, Maile Chapman, Kathryn Schulz, and Alexandra Harris.Guardian The Books for a Better Life Awards announced their finalists, and inductees into their Hall of Fame at the ceremony next March will include Grand Central publisher Jamie Raab. I’ve been assured that most attendees of the FT/Goldman Sachs business book award did receive winner Raghuram G. Rajan‘s FAULT LINES. (My bag was uncharacteristically light.) Melville House said on its blog that it will no longer submit its books in translation for consideration for the Best Translated Book […]
People, Awards, Etc.: Including A Business Book Award; Whiting Winners, UK NBA Nominees
Jocelyn Kalmus joins the Free Press as a publicist. She was an assistant publicist at Harper Collins. At Scholastic Media, Daisy Kline has been promoted to vp of marketing and brand management. Westchester’s Journal News has a nice profile of editor Pam Dorman: “She never gets recognized in New Rochelle, but in the publishing world everybody knows” her. Pop star Taylor Swift played the Scholastic auditorium, “where about 200 grade-schoolers and middle-schoolers, most of them girls, had received a break from class to see Swift talk about reading and writing. The children had been selected by their schools because of […]