Layoffs Barnes & Noble fired a number of employees at its New York headquarters who had been furloughed since March, including a number of veteran buyers. The company didn’t provide a headcount, and confirmed the news in a maddeningly passive statement: “It is with great regret that a number of employees in the corporate office have left our employment. As with so many companies, we evaluate our needs in circumstances much changed by the Covid-19 pandemic. We now have almost all of our bookstores reopened and must align our head office requirements to our store priorities. These are wonderful employees […]
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Girl with the Louding Voice Tops Amazon Best Books of the Year So Far
Amazon announced its Best Books of the Year So Far, with Abi Daré’s The Girl with the Louding Voice (Dutton) topping the list, and a full package of titles across 12 categories on the site. (Daré was a monthly Amazon pick in February but not their “spotlight” selection, though the novel was the Read with Jenna book club title that month.) Two of our Buzz Books selections made the list: Saint X, by Alexis Schaitkin (Celadon) and Sharks in the Time of Saviors, by Kawai Strong Washburn (MCD). Their top 20, in ranked order: 1. The Girl with the Louding […]
People, Etc.
MJ Franklin will move over from social editor at the NYT to join the NYT Book Review this summer as an assistant preview editor. Franklin will help cover literary fiction, memoir and essays, and he will lead their young adult coverage. Aubrey Poole, former editor at the Jimmy Patterson imprint, has joined subscription box service Literati as Acquisitions Editor and Curator for children’s books ages 0-12. Rhodes Murphy has joined the publicity agency Books Forward team as a publicist, and Rachel Hutchings has been hired as a digital marketing strategist. Quarto joined the growing list of publishers making clear they […]
New Books Publishing June 23
The Bolton book has claimed the headlines leading up to release today, but as usual a number of notable titles come to market this week — including the rescheduled release of Ottessa Moshfegh’s novel DEATH IN HER HANDS. As in previous weeks, our sample Bookshop and Aerbook store carousels provide easy displays of books publishing today in need of attention and support, featuring: 9 new works of fiction https://bookshop.org/lists/new-fiction-publishing-june-23 https://aerbook.com/store/publishers_lunch/New_Fiction_Publishing_June_23/217221 10 new nonfiction titles https://bookshop.org/lists/new-nonfiction-publishing-june-23 https://aerbook.com/store/publishers_lunch/New_Nonfiction_Publishing_June_23/217222 More new children’s/YA books https://bookshop.org/lists/new-children-s-titles-publishing-in-june https://aerbook.com/store/publishers_lunch/New_Childrens_Titles_Publishing_in_June/216958 We consult a number of sources in compiling our weekly lists and PM members can see our lists for the coming three […]
People, Etc.
Amanda Rutter has joined Jennifer Azantian Literary Agency as a literary agent, representing adult, YA and MG fantasy and science fiction. She was previously an agent at Red Sofa Literary Agency. Obituaries Literary agent Felicity Bryan, 74, died Sunday at home of stomach cancer. Bryan was a journalist at the FT and the Economist before joining Curtis Brown UK in 1972. She established Felicity Bryan Associates in 1988. Bryan also authored a number of books on gardening. Robert D. Richardson, 86, Bancroft prize-winning historian known for his biographies of William James and Ralph Waldo Emerson, died last week after sustaining head injuries in a fall. He was the husband […]
People, Etc.
Kim Brown has joined Welbeck Publishing Group as vice president, sales & marketing for North America. She was most recently president, North America for Parragon Books. Obituaries Carlos Ruiz Zafón, 55, Spanish author of novels including The Shadow of the Wind, died on Friday at his home in Los Angeles of colon cancer. Luigi Spagnol, 59, publisher of Gruppo editoriale Mauri Spagnol, died on June 14 after a long illness. The publisher writes, “Luigi Spagnol felt a profound respect for writers and readers, and never lost a chance to prove it with words of appreciation for all those who are […]