Gabrielle Gantz joins Palgrave as associate director of publicity. She was previously director of publicity at McSweeney’s. Mia Amato has joined Start Publishing as marketing director, overseeing all print and digital marketing of the recently acquired Cleis Press and Viva Editions imprints. Her background in digital channel marketing includes stints at Harlequin, Quirk Books, McGraw-Hill and Kensington. Firebrand Technologies has hired Satvinder Virdi as senior UK relationship manager, based in London, with responsibility for sales, projects and support of UK and European-based publishing clients. He was on the project management and technology operations team at Random House. Also in Europe, the company’s NetGalley has launched […]
Bookstores
Meskis to Retire From Tattered Cover, Vlahos & Gilligan Take Over Ownership
Owner of Tattered Cover Bookstore in Denver Joyce Meskis announced her forthcoming retirement this summer, as well as a two-year timeframe to pass over a controlling interest in the bookstore to Len Vlahos, currently executive director of BISG, and his wife, Kristen Gilligan. Vlahos will resign his position at BISG on June 12, after which he and Gilligan will drive cross-country to Denver, join Tattered Cover’s senior management team on July 1, and to acquire a controlling interest in the business on July 1, 2017. Meskis, after her retirement, will be available “on an as needed basis.” Meskis, who bought […]
People, Etc.
Luke Dempsey will join Harper One as executive editor on March 23, working out of the New York office. Previously he was non-fiction editorial director at Ballantine. Camille Perri has been named books editor-at-large at Cosmopolitan, where she will serve as the point person for all books coverage, including first serial rights, excerpts, and author opportunities, as well as attend industry events as a representative of the magazine. Previously she was assistant editor and books consultant at Esquire. Emily Williams joins educational non-profit Expeditionary Learning as manager, publisher relations. Previously she was manager, digital content at Nook, and before that […]
Briefs: Patterson’s $1.25 Million School Library Donation; Tattered Cover Moves A Location; and More
Following on his recent seven-figure donations to independent bookstores in the US and UK, James Patterson announced a $1.25 million donation to fund grants of $1,000 to $10,000 to school libraries. To be awarded on a rolling basis throughout 2015, the funds can be used for a variety of purposes, including, for example, repairs to a computer system or a school project focused on books and reading.Scholastic Reading Club will administer funding applications to its network of 62,000 schools and 800,000 teachers, and Scholastic will match Patterson’s donation with “bonus points” that teachers can use to acquire books and materials for classroom use. […]
Bookselling: Borderlands Sustained By Members; Positive Outlook Post-Winter Institute
Borderlands Books in San Francisco, which announced last month it was set to close as a result of the city’s new law mandating minimum wage increases, will stay open thanks to a membership drive. Not only did the store reach its goal of 300 subscribers contributing at least $100 to keep the store open through March 31, 2016, but Borderlands co-owner Alan Beatts told the SF Chronicle it now has more than 500 sponsors. “It’s been incredible,” Beatts said. “I had no idea that this would get so much attention from the press, from the public. I was astonished by […]
Barnes & Noble to Spin Off College Business As Separate, Public Company
Barnes & Noble filed a registration statement with the SEC to separate BN College into a separate, publicly-traded company, which will operate as Barnes & Noble Education Inc. They say “the separation is intended to be a tax-free distribution to Barnes & Noble shareholders and is anticipated to be completed by the end of August 2015.” Investors welcomed the news, with the stock rising 7 percent to roughly $26 a share in early morning trading, the highest it has been since 2009. The company politely admits that combining the once private BN College with the BN retail stores and declining Nook […]