The ABA named Philipp Meyer’s THE SON their No. 1 pick for June. That’s three No. 1s in a row for the Spring/Summer edition of our Buzz Books 2013 sampler (following Anthony Marra and Kate Atkinson). There are 4 other Indie Next June picks that you can preview right now in Buzz Books (Bulawayo, Miller, Disclafani, and Wascom). In all, nearly half of the 28 books we first featured and previewed in February have made “best of the month” lists from major booksellers over the past three months. Download it while you still can to read excerpts of these titles […]
Bookstores
People, Awards, Etc.
Longtime Author Solutions ceo Kevin Weiss is leaving the company for a new position (to be announced separately next week). President of Penguin International Andrew Phillips is taking over as ceo of Author Solutions, which Penguin acquired last July. Phillips led the launch of Partridge, the Penguin Author Solutions partnership in India. Penguin chairman and ceo John Makinson said in the announcement: “This is a bitter-sweet announcement because we shall be sorry to lose Kevin, who has provided the stability and clear leadership that Author Solutions needed in the year after our acquisition. But I always recognised that Kevin would seek […]
Landlord Pledges to “Work With” The Book House In St. Louis On New Location
Earlier this week Michelle Barron, owner of The Book House in St. Louis, learned that the developer who purchased the historic Victorian property where the independent bookstore has been located since 1980 planned to demolish it this coming July and replace the building with an industrial storage facility. But Bill Barron, who represents the Great Northern Developments company that now owns the building, told the St. Louis Dispatch he’s pledging to help Barron find a new home. “We don’t want her on the street,” he said. “We want to work with her.” Barron said the company “is considering several options, […]
People, Etc.
Michael Cairns is joining Publishing Technology as chief operating officer of their online solutions division, replacing Louise Russell. His responsibilities include their pub2web hosting platform and the ingentaconnect portal. Most recently Cairns has been a consultant and served as chief revenue office for SharedBook, focused on their Academic Pub platform. Greenhouse Literary Agency has hired Polly Nolan head up the UK side of their business representing children’s and YA authors. Currently associate publishing director, fiction, at Macmillan UK Children’s, she will start her new job on June 3. Amber Morley has joined Chronicle Books as marketing coordinator for their children’s division. […]
People, Etc.
David Fickling will leave Random House Children’s UK after more than 12 years in order to launch his existing children’s imprint, David Fickling Books, as an independent venture in July. Fickling will be chairman of the new company, and author and editor Simon Mason will take on the role of managing director. The venture will continue to be based in its existing Oxford office and plans to publish 25-30 books a year. After a period of transition, DFB backlist titles, including Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time and John Boyne’s The Boy in the Striped […]
People: Sontz Takes Over As Powell’s CEO
Powell’s Books longtime chief operating officer Miriam Sontz will take over as the bookseller’s ceo, as Emily Powell relinquishes that title to “step fully into her role as the owner of Powell’s Books, focusing on the stewardship of Powell’s long-term future, health, and vitality.” She wrote in a memo to employees: “In Miriam’s 28 years at Powell’s she has held many roles — from Beaverton store manager to co-CEO. Powell’s owes much of its arc through life to Miriam — to her persistent, loving dedication to Powell’s, to bookselling, and to integrity.” Sontz says, “We are well-positioned to continue efficiencies […]