Bookselling Barnes & Noble‘s Upper East Side location in NYC has closed permanently. B&N said to PL: “We can confirm that we are to close our bookstore at 86th St. and Lexington Ave. The store has served us well over the years but is now too large, and too expensive, for our needs. We have therefore made the difficult decision to close the store to focus energy and resources on improving our other bookstores in New York City.” The store closed in March due to COVID-19 and B&N is in “active pursuit of a new site” in the area. B&N […]
Bookstores
People, Etc.
Michael C. Wright will lead the college department at Norton, succeeding the longtime director, Roby Harrington, who will continue at Norton in his role as vice chairman. Norton president Julia Reidhead said in the release, “Few generational milestones can be more significant to Norton’s future than the hand-off of College Department leadership. Michael Wright has overseen dramatic growth and transformation during his tenure as Director of College Sales and previously enjoyed great success as an editor and marketer. His appointment assures us that College leadership will go from strength to strength.” Brad Schwartz joins Audible June 15 as chief content […]
ABA Acknowledges Going “Too Slow” In Supporting BIPOC Bookstores and Booksellers and Promises Better
The American Booksellers Association convened a virtual version of their annual meeting and town hall — usually held at Book Expo — on Thursday afternoon. One traditional element was missing however, the updated statistics on the number of ABA members. Board president Jamie Fiocco said in her report, “We were in the middle of renewals when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, so with dues suspended, we do not have membership numbers right now.” Fiocco had opened the meeting by reading a statement from the board: “I’d like to say that we are saddened and horrified by our country’s violence towards people […]
Follow-Ups: On Jemisin’s Advances, HBG’s Expanded Goals, and More
After N.K. Jemisin surprised people with her modest book advances as a part of the #PublishingPaidMe conversation — $40K for each book of Inheritance trilogy; $25K for each book of the Dreamblood trilogy; $25K for each book of the Broken Earth trilogy — we queried her publisher, Tim Holman, vp and publisher at Orbit. He said that they “wholeheartedly support the right of black writers to demand equality in the compensation for their work” and also said that the contract negotiations were “conducted in good faith and based on the circumstances at the time.” He went on, “The commercial – […]
People, Etc.
At Bloomsbury UK, Alexis Kirschbaum has been promoted to associate publisher. Alison Hennessey becomes publishing director. Rowan Yapp has been promoted to publishing director of the illustration list, while Emma Herdman becomes publishing director with a focus on literary and commercial. Ileene Smith, previously vice president and executive editor at Farrar, Straus, is now serving as an editor at large for the house. She will continue to acquire and work with selected authors. Andrea Joyce is now handling rights for Edinburgh-based agency Jenny Brown Associates. She was most recently rights director at Canongate for 12 years. Felicity Bryan is stepping […]
People, Etc.: S&S and Macmillan Will Also Skip the Frankfurt Book Fair
Frankfurt Book Fair Simon & Schuster joined HarperCollins and others in announcing that it, too, will not attend the Frankfurt Book Fair this year: “After careful consideration, and with the health and safety of our employees and industry colleagues foremost in mind, Simon & Schuster has decided that it will not attend the Frankfurt Book Fair this year. We applaud the FBF’s efforts to develop digital programs, and while we will not have a physical presence, our publishers, rights and sales groups are very much looking forward to using other means to meet with their with their contacts in the […]