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 […]
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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 […]
People, Etc.
Jill Smith has been appointed director of the Denver Publishing Institute, effective January 1, 2015. Smith has worked at the Institute since 2003 and is currently co-director. She succeeds Joyce Meskis, who is retiring as director after seven years (though she will keep her responsibilities at Tattered Cover Bookstore.) Rayhane Sanders will join Lippincott Massie McQuilkin as Agent, effective January 1, continuing to build her list of upmarket and literary fiction, narrative nonfiction, and memoir. Most recently she was an agent at WSK Management and before that she assisted Dorian Karchmar at William Morris Endeavor. At Little, Brown, Fiona Brown has been […]
Daniel Handler Apologizes via Twitter
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 […]
People, Etc.
Meredith McGinnis will join Norton’s trade department on December 3 in the newly-created position of director of marketing, responsible for creating strategy, determining priorities and procedures, and overseeing all aspects of marketing initiatives, both traditional and digital, for the entire trade list. She was most recently director of marketing at Harmony and Clarkson Potter and has almost two decades of experience in book publishing. McGinnis will report to Norton president Drake McFeely. Jo Lusby has been promoted to managing director, Penguin Random House North Asia, after nine years as managing director for Penguin China. Lusby reports to Gabrielle Coyne and will work alongside Cyrus Kheradi, […]
Klay, Osnos Top National Book Award Winners
As in previous years, the move towards added visibility and greater recognition resulted in a mixture of expected and surprise National Book Award winners Wednesday night. Phil Klay won the fiction prize for his debut short story collection REDEPLOYMENT, something of a surprise (most especially for the author, who only prepared a speech upon his wife’s urging.) “I spent 13 months in Iraq working with an exceptional group of Marines… and I came back not knowing what to think,” Klay said. “For me, writing this book…I can’t think of a more important conversation to be having. War is too strange […]