On Friday afternoon Hachette Book Group announced that it “has decided that it will not publish Woody Allen’s memoir A Propos of Nothing…and will return all rights to the author.” The cancellation followed a protest from HBG employees on Thursday that drew international media attention. The company noted in their statement that, “We are committed to offering a stimulating, supportive and open work environment for all our staff. Over the past few days, HBG leadership had extensive conversations with our staff and others. After listening, we came to the conclusion that moving forward with publication would not be feasible for […]
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At Bloomsbury Children’s, Mary Kate Castellani has been promoted to editorial director; Melissa Kavonic to managing editorial director; Kate Sederstrom to assistant editor; Beth Eller to senior director of school and library marketing and domestic sub rights; Phoebe Dyer to marketing associate; and Jeanette Levy to assistant art director. Stephen Isaacs joined the McGraw-Hill Business team as a senior editor. Kendra Newton has been promoted to senior marketing director for Dey Street Books. Raffaella de Angelis joined producer and distributor Fremantle this week, working on literary acquisitions for their global drama division, as well as for production companies The Apartment (part of Fremantle) and […]
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Sarah MacLachlan will retire as president and publisher of House of Anansi Press and president of Groundwood Books at the end of June. She has been with the company for 16 years. Bruce Walsh, former publisher of University of Regina Press, will succeed her as publisher of House of Anansi. Semareh Al-Hillal, current publisher of Groundwood, will move over to president role, while Karen Li will become publisher. Li was previously editorial director of Owlkids Books. MacLachlan said in a statement, “Over the years I have had the privilege of working with the most talented creators and the best people […]
Book Expo Knows You’re Already Worried About Their Show (and Maybe Mad At Reed), So Issues Update, While Staying On Track
Book Expo officials are moving to get in front of community concerns about COVID-19, following the London Book Fair’s reluctant cancellation of their show. (Both shows are part of Reed Exhibitions.) Event director Jenny Martin writes in a statement, “The effect of the COVID-19 virus on the publishing business and our people is significant and difficult to navigate. Many industry events outside of the United States, have had to make difficult decisions about proceeding with their events. We understand the impact that has on the publishing industry and we want to be proactive and transparent about BookExpo.” For now: “BookExpo […]
The Shoe Drops at ViacomCBS, Which Will Explore Sale of Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster ceo Carolyn Reidy wrote to staff Wednesday morning “to let you know that today ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish announced that the company is beginning the process by which ViacomCBS will potentially sell Simon & Schuster.” Bakish was speaking at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference in San Francisco: “We’ve been conducting a portfolio review of our company. And coming out of that we’ve made the determination that Simon and Schuster is not a core asset of the company. It is not video based; it doesn’t have significant connectivity to our broader business. At the same […]
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Chad Zimmerman has joined the University of Chicago Press as executive editor for economics, business, and public policy. He was previously at Oxford University Press, where he built OUP’s list in public health. Joseph Calamia has joined the University of Chicago Press as senior editor for the sciences. He was previously at Yale University Press. At Laurence King Publishing, Alex Coumbis has been promoted to publicity manager. Anastasia Scott has been promoted to marketing and publicity manager. Morgan Baden will join Gotham Ghostwriters as creative director. Baden was previously at Scholastic for 11 years, most recently as vice president of corporate […]