Th Bologna Book Fair plans to scale back the 2010 edition to three days (March 23-25) and that has children’s book publishers very unhappy. The Bookseller reports that a group of up to ten publishers are refusing to confirm their booking or make payment until the fair organisers agree to extend the fair back to four days or to reduce the exhibitor’s fees by 25%. A meeting will take place next week between the PA and the Bologna fair organisers to try to resolve the situation.The Bookseller
Book Fairs
Random House Passes On Frankfurt Party
Following reports we heard from the international community earlier this week, Random House spokesman Stuart Applebaum confirms that the traditional Thursday night party in Frankfurt in conjunction with the book fair, held jointly by Random House and Bertelsmann’s Direct Group, will not be convened this year. Applebaum notes, “This party always has been the financial responsibility of the two companies, whose ceos made this determination. For Random House, this course of action is consistent with our not hosting any coporate social events this spring at the LBF or BEA. We’ve been informing many of our longstanding invited international guests of […]
New Digital Book Conference Set for January, with Shatzkin As Chair
F+W Media, the publishing company focused on core enthusiast communities, is launching a two-day conference focused on “the radically changing commercial environment for consumer book publishers and their trading partners” next January 26 and 27 in New York at the Sheraton. Consultant, entrepreneur and longtime analyst of digital change Mike Shatzkin is leading the programming as conference chair, and he has recruited an advisory board that includes Richard Curtis, Jeff Gomez, Ami Greko, Mark Gompertz, John Ingram, Maja Thomas, Tom Turvey, and many others. Envisioned as an event by, of and for trade publishers, the new conference’s goal is to […]
Scaled-Back Miami Book Fair to Charge For This Year's Event
After 26 years of free admission, the Miami Book Fair will charge for this year’s event, held between November 8 and 15th. Attendees will be asked to pay $8 for admission to the weekend street fair on Saturday and Sunday and $10 for ”Evenings With . . .” programs that run opening night and through the week. The fair will also discontinue its opening-day festivities, its Street Fair parade and International Pavilions. Kids under 18 will still get in free, and fair-goers over 62 will still pay $5 for the street fair. Cofounder and chair Mitch Kaplan told the Miami […]
People and Announcements
Borders continues the tradition of bolstering their executive team with people from outside of publishing. They have hired Arthur Keeney as svp of marketing, starting at the end of June, reporting to Anne Kubek. He was general manager for eight years at Harold Friedman, Inc., a Pennsylvania-based grocery store chain, and previously worked with Borders ceo Ron Marshall at grocer Nash Finch. Among the areas he will oversee is Borders.com, where he will run a search “for a new leader at the vice president level.” Rich Fahle is moving from that role to the new position of vp creative, outreach […]
People and More
Publisher of Sweden’s Nicotext Fredrik Colting has now admitted that he wrote 60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye and invented the pseudonym JD California. (A photo that ran in the Telegraph depicted a friend of Colting’s who is an actor.) Colting claims not to have understood he was echoing Salinger’s name with his pseudonym: “Somehow, John David California sounded like JD. I didn’t think about that actually. I just thought it sounded cool. Of course afterwards, I see the resemblance.” He has also backed off of his fiery language about the suit and now claims, “I’ve never said this […]