Current Little Brown UK ceo Ursula Mackenzie will relinquish that position on July 1 and take on the role of chairman, working on “special projects” for the unit as well as Hachette UK through the end of 2016, when she will retire from publishing. Little Brown UK publisher David Shelley has been named deputy ceo, and will take over as ceo on July 1. He has joined the Hachette UK board as well. Nathaniel Marunas has been appointed publisher of Quercus US, working locally under the supervision of Little, Brown publisher Reagan Arthur. The Quercus US unit reports in to Jason Bartholomew at […]
Free
Free, and One More Chance to Save
As we noted earlier in the week, in advance of Tuesday’s packed Publishers Launch Kids conference we have a free PDF with background essays on three of the topics to be explored in more depth at the show (including the first part of Play Collective’s data on the ereading habits of children ages 2 to 13). But there won’t be much more that’s free on the way — neither Launch Kids nor the main Digital Book World events will be streamed or podcast; the way find out what’s happening is by joining us at the show. The full program is […]
People, Etc.
At Putnam, Ashley Hewlett has been promoted to senior publicist while Sarah Grimm moves up to associate publicist. Following the sales of Santillana’s trade book business to Penguin Random House, Maria B. Campbell Associates is now the US literary scout for all of the company’s Spanish-language (and Portuguese-language) book divisions: Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial in Spain and Portugal, Companhia das Letras and Objetiva in Brazil. With further hostage developments in Paris following Wednesday’s Charlie Hebdo attacks, Michel Houellebecq has stopped promotion of his novel SUBMISSION (with the exception of a pre-recorded interview that will air on Canal+ Friday night) and has left […]
Hannah Leads February Indie Next List; Tyler Tops Library Reads List
The preview version of the February Indie Next List has The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah as indie booksellers’ No. 1 selection for the month. The rest of the list features: Etta and Otto and Russell and James, by Emma Hooper A Spool of Blue Thread, by Anne Tyler Of Things Gone Astray, by Janina Mathewson Get in Trouble, by Kelly Link Sweetland, by Michael Crummey Leaving Before the Rains Come, by Alexandra Fuller The Jaguar’s Children, by John Vaillant First Frost, by Sarah Addison Allen Wolf Winter, by Cecilia Ekbäck The Swimmer, by Joakim Zander Mort(e), by Robert Repino Migratory […]
Barnes & Noble Happily Flat for Holiday Sales
Barnes & Noble reported a not-terrible nine-week holiday sales period: Total sales at the division comprising the BN stores and BN.com were basically flat at $1.1 billion (up 0.2 percent), though that result was helped by “favorable timing of the fiscal nine-week period, which ended on January 3 this year as compared to December 28 last year,” which made up for some of the sales lost due to store closures. Sales would have been down 1.6 percent absent the schedule gain. Bookstore comp sales declined 0.6 percent because of Nook declines; “core” store sales, leaving aside Nook devices and accessories, rose […]
People, Etc.
Hachette Book Group has completed its acquisition of Black Dog & Leventhal. Workman will continue to distribute the line through June of this year, and Black Dog staff will relocate to HBG’s offices in mid-April. Taylor Sperry has joined Melville House as editor. Previously she was assistant editor at FSG. At St. Martin’s, Hannah Braaten, Laura Chasen, Silissa Kenney, and Elizabeth Lacks have all been promoted to associate editor. At Tor/Forge, Kristin Sevick has been promoted to senior editor, while Sarah Romeo moves up to designer. Cassandra Ammerman has been promoted to senior marketing manager, and Alex Cameron moves up to […]