Along with the significant shutdown of the nation’s public libraries, independent booksellers are joining the call for social distancing and closing on a temporary basis, at least to the public, with many stores continuing to process shipments and/or make deliveries. Powell’s Books is among the most prominent to close so far, at least through the end of March, shuttering all five retail locations while continuing to operate online. New York area stores announcing closures include Astoria Bookshop, Three Lives & Company, Inquiring Minds (New Paltz), and Words Bookstore (Maplewood, NJ). Literati Bookstore in Ann Arbor, MI was among the first […]
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Briefs: A New Wilkerson Book, Elliott Bay Unionizes, and More
People Liz Van Doren has been promoted to vp, executive editorial director at Highlights for Children. Forthcoming Isabel Wilkerson‘s next book, CASTE: THE ORIGINS OF OUR DISCONTENT, will be published by Random House on August 20. Her first book since the 2010 Pulitzer-winning The Warmth of Other Suns, it’s about “the human impulse to create hierarchies runs across societies and cultures.” Bookselling Workers at Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle have unionized, creating the newly formed Book Workers Union, which has been recognized by management. They write in their mission statement, “We organize because our people are what make Elliott […]
Public Library Systems Close Across the Country
As the nation scrambles to implement social distancing and control the spread of COVID-19, major library systems around the country have announced plans to close. And in the few large population centers where libraries are still remaining open, there is controversy. Among the 20 most populous cities in America, only the Chicago and Boston public libraries had yet to announce temporary closures by Monday morning. In Boston that led to an online petition asking the city to close the libraries and make the employees whole. In New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio had publicly resisted library closures. When the New […]
People, Etc.
At Hachette Audio, Nita Basu has been promoted to manager of marketing & publicity, and Ghenet Harvey moves up to audio coordinator. Awards The American Academy of Arts and Letters announced their annual literature awards, this year going to 19 writers. Poet Leslie Marmon Silko won the $100,000 Christopher Lightfoot Walker Award for “a significant contribution to American literature.” While most awards go to the writers for general achievement or accomplishment, Valeria Luiselli won a prize for Lost Children Archive, and Isabella Hammad won a first fiction prize for The Parisian. Go here for the complete list of recipients, awarded $350,000 […]
PRH Now Recommends Work from Home, As Do Harper, Macmillan and Others, Plus More Cancellations
Penguin Random House US ceo Madeline McIntosh updated the company’s previous direction to employees: “We’ve made the decision that everyone in our New York, Colorado Springs, and Emeryville offices who can work from home should now transition to do so; plan for today to be your last day in the office, for the time being…. Guidance for Woodland Hills, Westminster, Crawfordsville and Reno is being provided by local leadership.” Additionally, PRH ceo Markus Dohle wrote to staff worldwide: “The geographic nature of the spread of the virus means that we won’t adopt a one-size-fits-all approach for all of our offices […]
HBG and S&S Test Work from Home, Harper Cleans UK Office
Hachette Book Group is “testing work-from-home capabilities today and tomorrow, asking each of our colleagues whose work can be done remotely to work from home on one of these two days.” More broadly, the company said, “Our first concern is the health and well-being of Hachette employees. Starting today, employees with concerns about being in an office environment, about commuting on crowded public transit, or other concerns that lead them to want to work from home, can talk with their managers to make arrangements.” Simon & Schuster employees have been instructed to work from home this Friday as part of […]