Threshold Editions said on Friday that it has “withdrawn from publication and sale all formats of” THE EMBASSY HOUSE, written by “Sergeant Morgan Jones” — now revealed to be independent security contractor working for the State Department Dylan Davies, and Damien Lewis. The publisher said in a statement they were taking action “in light of information that has been brought to our attention since the initial publication of THE EMBASSY HOUSE.” They are “notifying accounts that they may return the book to us” and recommending they withdraw it as well. On Friday morning 60 Minutes correspondent Lara Logan issued an apology for her […]
Books In the News
Briefs: Doctorow, Angelou Get Lifetime Achievement Awards; Fall Book Picks from USA TODAY, Daily Beast
The National Book Foundation has awarded its 2013 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters to E. L. Doctorow and its 2013 Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community to Maya Angelou. Both will receive their honors at the National Book Awards on November 20. Both USA Today and the Daily Beast offer their fall book picks (30 and 21 books, respectively). Books making both lists include: BLEEDING EDGE, Thomas Pynchon THE LOWLAND, Jhumpa Lahiri ONE SUMMER: America 1927, Bill Bryson THE GOLDFINCH, Donna Tartt THE MOST OF NORA EPHRON, Nora Ephron DOUBLE DOWN, Mark Halperin & […]
Authors in the News: Galbraith FAQs; Ann Rule Sues Seattle Weekly; Pahlaniuk’s FIGHT CLUB Sequel; and More
The official website of “Robert Galbraith,” JK Rowling‘s crime-writing alter ego, now includes a FAQ addressing many of the questions that have emerged since the Sunday Times unmasked her identity earlier this month. She wrote THE CUCKOO’S CALLING under a pseudonym because “I was yearning to go back to the beginning of a writing career in this new genre, to work without hype or expectation and to receive totally unvarnished feedback. It was a fantastic experience and I only wish it could have gone on a little longer.” Rowling says she had “labyrinthine plans…to conceal my identity” and “hoped to keep […]
Briefs: Banks and Perseus Funds Sue Frank Pearl’s Estate; German Publisher Is Rowling Winner; And More
The estate of financier and Perseus Books founder Frank Pearl, who died in May 2012, is being sued by Bank of America, TD Bank, Eagle Bank and even Perseus Funds for more than $50 million, according to the Washington Post, alleging he “sought to avoid payment to creditors by fraudulently moving $59 million in life insurance proceeds and other assets from his estate into Perseus Trust, which he had created for his wife” after being diagnosed with terminal cancer in November 2011. Bank of America seeks $22 million; TD Bank and Eagle Bank are asking for more than $16 million […]
Books In the News: Cuckoo Denial; Inferno and Wild Movies; Dinkins’ Memoir
Little Brown UK told The Bookseller that “Robert Galbraith’s” THE CUCKOO’S CALLING had sold 1,400 print copies and 800 ebooks domestically, plus 2,000 export copies and 3,800 audio downloads. (That compares to under 500 hardcovers in the US.) The UK publisher is reprinting 140,000 copies. Rowling’s spokesperson felt compelled to formally deny involvement in the Sunday Times revelation, saying “it was not a leak or elaborate marketing campaign to boost sales.” Little Brown UK added their own denial, in almost the same words, saying it “was not a leak or part of a marketing campaign.” As for other big bestsellers, […]
People, Etc.
The UK’s Pushkin Press has hired Tabitha Pelly as publicist, starting July 1. She has worked with them on some previous campaigns on a freelance basis. Edward Hanus has joined LID Publishing as business development manager. In book news, Viking has announced a publication date for Sue Monk Kidd’s new novel, THE INVENTION OF WINGS: January 7, 2014. It’s about the parallel lives of 19th century Charleston slave Hetty “Handful” Grimke and the girl for whom she serves as a handmaid, Sarah Grimke, a real-life historical figure who became a feminist and abolitionist. Revelations about domestic surveillance have spurred interest in George Orwell’s […]