World Book Night US reports that it has recruited more 29,000 givers to hand out 580,000 free books today. Aligned with Shakespeare’s birthday, this year’s efforts include distribution of thousands of free copies of Shakespeare’s Sonnets to be distributed at schools, and seats at four Broadway plays in New York. The third annual WBN US will distribute about 16 percent more paperbacks than last year, “primarily [through] outreach into underfunded public schools.” A number of author-led kickoff events were held last night around the country, noted on the WBN events map. Executive director Carl Lennertz says in the release: “Our […]
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Maria Ribas and Paul Lamb have joined the Howard Morhaim Literary agency as literary agents. Ribas was an associate editor at Adams Media and will continue to focus on cookbooks, self-help, health, diet, parenting, and humor. Lamb was most recently senior marketing manager at Viking, and will focus on representing non-fiction in the areas of business, memoir, political science, sociology and sports, as well as crime, mystery and literary fiction. Gypsy da Silva will retire from Simon & Schuster on April 30 after more than 47 years in publishing, the last 26 as associate director of copy editing for the […]
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Kensington publisher Laurie Parkin intends to retire on May 30 after 15 years in the position, and 30 years in publishing. Company ceo Steven Zacharius says: “Laurie’s love of publishing and selling books has been a driving force behind Kensington’s success during a period of immense change in the industry. Laurie’s leadership, perspective, creativity and enthusiasm in all areas of the publishing program will be greatly missed.” Parkin notes, “I’ve certainly been lucky to share these last fifteen years with Kensington’s incredibly talented family and our very special authors. It’s been a wonderful adventure.” Nancy Inglis will retire as Simon & Schuster’s director […]
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Joel Scotkin has joined Open Road in the new role of chief technology officer, reporting to ceo Jane Friedman. Scotkin was previously ceo and founder of the technology consulting firm Random Walk and later ceo and lead investor in Masten Space Systems, a start-up focused on reusable space travel. Michelle Richter is joining Foreword Literary as an associate agent. She has been an editor at St. Martin’s. She is planning to represent a broad selection of fiction, and nonfiction focused on fashion, film, television, science, medicine, sociology/social trends, and economics for trade audiences. Jana Burson has launched The Burson Agency, […]
Indies Choice Winners: Atkinson, Marra, Rowell and More
The Indies Choice Award winners (and related ABA-selected E.B. White Read-Aloud Award winners) were named, for formal presentation at BEA. Additionally, indie bookstore benefactor James Patterson will be honored with the Indie Champion Award. The winning books and authors are: Adult Fiction Life After Life, by Kate Atkinson (Reagan Arthur Books) Adult Debut A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, by Anthony Marra (Hogarth) Adult Nonfiction The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, by Daniel James Brown (Viking) Young Adult Eleanor & Park, by Rainbow Rowell (Griffin) Middle Reader Flora and […]
People: On Marquez, 87, and More
Nobel Prize-winning novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 87, died at home in Mexico City on Thursday, following complications from pneumonia. Among the many appreciations of his work and life are these from Michiko Kakutani and Hector Tobar. Hillary Clinton‘s June 10 memoir has a title — HARD CHOICES and a final jacket: “All of us face hard choices in our lives,” she writes. “Life is about making such choices. Our choices and how we handle them shape the people we become.” Author Jesmyn Ward will join the faculty of Tulane University on July 1 as the first to hold the Paul and Debra Gibbons […]