Obituaries Novelist Kent Haruf, 71, has died, his editor Gary Fisketjon confirmed to the Washington Post on Sunday. The new issue of Granta has an autobiographical essay by Haruf, and his novel OUR SOULS AT NIGHT is due to be published next year. Fisketjon said, “Kent had finished all his revisions and even gone through the copy editing. We had it scheduled for May, though I haven’t yet processed how this tragic news might alter those plans.” PD James, 94, the British crime writer and member of the House of Lords, died Thursday morning at her home in Oxford. She was the author […]
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Green Wednesday?
It’s more like Wet Wednesday here on the East coast, but we’re getting in the seasonal spirit: So for today (Green Wednesday, or Wet Wednesday), tomorrow (Thanksgiving Thursday), Black Friday, and Small Business Saturday, or November 26 through November 29, we’re offering a short free trial period at PublishersMarketplace.com for those who want to take a break from shopping or football. Enroll at our regular registration page, and please follow the posted instructions carefully. New registrants can explore the entire site without further obligation through Saturday night; just cancel prior to the expiration of the trial period if you do not […]
Authors In the News: Bookselling Authors, Picoult, MacArthur Fellow McHugh, and More
The American Booksellers Association says that over 400 independent bookstores will host authors who have volunteered to work alongside booksellers as part of the Indies First initiative this Saturday — which is the American Express-promoted Small Business Saturday. The ABA reports that more than 1,200 authors have enrolled in the various year-round initiatives that are part of the larger Indies First banner. They have a state-by-state listing of scheduled author appearances and other in-store promotions here. Jodi Picoult visits the UK and gives the Telegraph a candid interview she probably wouldn’t give to an American newspaper, which in turn gets pitched to a […]
People, Etc.
Shawna Mullen will join Abrams as associate publisher, adult trade on December 15, reporting to Michael Sand. Previously she was executive editor at Taunton Press and before then, editorial director at Clarkson Potter, where she helped launch the Potter Craft imprint. PEN announced a new PEN/Fusion Emerging Writers Prize to support an unpublished manuscript that “addresses a global and/or multicultural issue,” from a writer under the age of 35. As of January 1 eBook Architects will close their Austin, TX office. The core staff, including the unit’s lead Joshua Tallent, will continue their work with Firebrand (and their FlightDeck EPUB testing and validation tool) and […]
People
Vanessa Mobley is moving to Little, Brown as executive editor, starting December 1, reporting to Judy Clain. She had been an executive editor at Crown. Jon Pott, vp, editor-in-chief of of Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, has announced that he will retire on June 30, 2015. He first joined the company in 1968 as editor, rising up to become editor-in-chief in 1982. “When I came to the company I intended to stay for one year,” Pott said in the announcement, “Forty-six years later, that is a deadline I am deeply grateful to have missed.” He added: “If — as I have been […]
Handler Acknowledges Remarks Were “Yes, Racist” and Apologizes — As Does NBF; He Pledges Matching Gift to #WeNeedDiverseBooks
After declining media requests for comment about his controversial remarks at the National Book Awards gala, Daniel Handler posted a modest apology on Twitter around noon on Thursday: “My job at last night’s National Book Awards #NBAwards was to shine a light on tremendous writers, including Jacqueline Woodson…and not to overshadow their achievements with my own ill-conceived attempts at humor. I clearly failed, and I’m sorry.” By early Friday morning Handler expanded that to a bigger admission: “My remarks on Wednesday night at #NBAwards were monstrously inappropriate and yes, racist.” He added, “It would be heartbreaking for the #NBAwards conversation […]