In a turnabout from the reported delay we wrote about Wednesday morning, by a substantial vote of 74 to 18, on Wednesday afternoon the US Senate confirmed Carla Hayden for a 10-year term as Librarian of Congress in a roll call vote. She is the fourteenth person to hold the post. In other personnel news, Graywolf Press publisher Fiona McCrae will join the National Book Foundation board of directors, the third new member announced this year. “Fiona is widely respected in both the publishing and nonprofit worlds, and we are honored to have someone with Fiona’s deep expertise as both […]
Distribution
UK Briefs: Hachette UK to Close Littlehampton Warehouse in 2019; Lost My Name Lays Off 10; and More
Hachette UK will close its Littlehampton Book Services warehouse and offices in 2019 as part of a bigger plan to consolidate and modernize their distribution operations. They will build a new distribution center in Didcot, Oxfordshire, about a mile away from the existing Bookpoint distribution facility, starting in late 2016. “It is intended that Hachette Distribution and its client publishers will begin a carefully phased transition to the new site in 2018,” the company said, and the current Bookpoint warehouse will be maintained for “bulk storage.” Hachette UK coo Chris Emerson said in the announcement: “The retail landscape has changed; people buy […]
People, Etc.
Dorling Kindersley cfo Stephen Twilliger will move to Rodale on August 8 as their evp and cfo, reporting to ceo Maria Rodale. In the announcement Rodale notes a planned expansion in children’s books: “His deep experience in book publishing and children’s publishing, a key launch area for us in 2017; strong leadership and communication skills, proven track record and passion for the work we do at Rodale make him an ideal candidate.” Senior Advisor at Providence Equity Brian Napack is joining an expanding board of directors at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, bringing the board up to eight members. Chairman Larry Fish says in the announcement, […]
Hachette Book Group Relocates 52 Jobs
Hachette Book Group announced changes to several divisions, related to the Perseus Books Group acquisition and warehouse expansion in Lebanon, IN, saying those developments provided “an opportunity to reevaluate where certain functions of HBG’s business are situated in order to make the most efficient use of the many offices we now have.” As a result, 52 job functions are being consolidated and transferred to different HBG locations. It’s not clear yet how many current employees will lose their jobs as a result of the reorganization, and how many will relocate and stay with the company. Spokesperson Sophie Cottrell said, “We value the talent and […]
People, Etc.
Julie Stevenson will join Lippincott Massie & McQuilkin as an agent to expand her list of literary and upmarket fiction, narrative nonfiction, YA and children’s books. Previously she was an agent at Waxman Leavell and Sobel Weber Associates. She will divide her time between New York and her hometown of Missoula, Montana. Alexandra Poreda has joined Other Press as associate editor. She was previously a development editor at Cambridge University Press. Kat Brzozowski has moved from Thomas Dunne Books over to Macmillan’s Swoon Reads and Feiwel and Friends as an editor. Former NBN vp of sales Michael Sullivan, 69, died on Sunday following an extended illness. CEO […]
Forthcoming: New Novels from Coehlo, Lamb on November 22; and More
Publication Announcement Bestselling author of The Alchemist and other works Paulo Coelho has a new novel, THE SPY, based on the life of Mata Hari, on the way from a new US publisher, Knopf. Edited by Anne Messitte, the book will be published in the US on November 22, translated from the Portuguese by Zoe Perry. Vintage Español will publish as a Spanish-language hardcover. The book draws on files on Mata Hari released by intelligence agencies in Germany, Holland, and the UK: “I ended up with a mountain of documents,” Coelho says in the announcement, “but also with a question: What did Mata Hari […]