Sharon Shell has joined Independent Publishers Group as director of library & education sales. She was previously director of implementation, sales operations at Scholastic. Daniel O’Connor has been promoted to senior sales manager at Bloomsbury. Jacqui Lipton has founded Raven Quill Literary Agency, representing authors of books for children and young adults. Lipton is an attorney and a law professor, and author of Law & Authors: A Legal Handbook for Writers. For people who want to stop by and pay their respects, there will be a viewing of Sonny Mehta on Friday, January 3, from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM […]
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Knopf Doubleday Chairman Sonny Mehta Dies at 77
Renowned chairman of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group and editor-in-chief of Knopf Sonny Mehta died on Monday, December 30 of complications from pneumonia. He was 77. Plans for a memorial service will be announced. The company said in a statement, “Mehta’s contributions to the world of letters and publishing are without precedent. His exacting standards – in editorial, production, design, marketing, and publicity – were a beacon to the book industry and beyond. He was a friend to writers, editors, and booksellers around the world. Mehta was also a gentleman, uniquely so, who cared deeply about his colleagues and the […]
People, Etc.
Jessica Renheim and Toni Kirkpatrick have joined Crooked Lane Books and Alcove Press as acquisitions editors focusing on crime and book club fiction. In the Queen’s New Year’s Honors list, literary agent Felicity Bryan was given an MBE for services to publishing, and novelist Rose Tremain was made a Dame. Sourcebooks has acquired two adult mystery series, a YA trilogy, and a middle grade series from independent press Dunemere Books. They will relaunch them in 2020 and plan new titles for each series. Feminist writer and author of the 1998 book Life After Birth, Kate Figes, 62, died on December […]
Briefs
Journalist and novelist Ward Just, 84, died Thursday of Lewy body dementia. His novel Echo House was a National Book Award finalist and his novel An Unfinished Season was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in 2005. Romance novelist Johanna Lindsey, 67, died on October 27 in Nashua, NH. She wrote almost 60 novels that sold more than 60 million copies. PW named author Dav Pilkey as its “person of the year,” writing that “with sales of his Dog Man series skyrocketing in 2019, Pilkey is doing more to excite kids about reading than any author since J.K. Rowling.” The […]
People, Etc.
Jessica Breen will join Basic Books as marketing director on January 6. She is currently digital marketing strategist at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Cassandra Pelham Fulton has been promoted to editorial director, Graphix. Due to an editing error, we left out Sasha Quinton’s first name from yesterday’s announcement on her move to Scholastic. Bookselling New bookstore Still North Books and Bar opened in Hanover, NH on Thursday. The Barnes & Noble in Greenfield, WI near Southridge Mall will close in summer 2020 when its lease expires. A hospital and primary care clinic will move into the space. Legal The European Court of […]
People: Quinton Leaves BN for Scholastic
Barnes & Noble vp and general merchandise manager, bookstore Sasha Quinton is the latest senior executive to leave the company, named evp, Scholastic and president, Scholastic Book Fairs effective January. She is succeeding Alan Boyko, who announced his retirement earlier this year after 14 years in that position. Quinton will report to ceo Richard Robinson. He said in the announcement, “We believe her instinct for finding and marketing books that captivate young readers, deep expertise in retail and merchandising, and proven operational acumen make her the ideal candidate to lead Scholastic Book Fairs. The market for book distribution continues to […]