For the third consecutive year, at Digital Book World later this month, Jack McKeown from Verso Digital (and Books & Books Westhampton Beach) will present original consumer survey data and analysis on consumer habits regarding both ebooks and print books, from responses elicited from over 2,200 respondents after November’s “Cyber Monday.” By their results, ereader ownership could as much as double over the next year–6.4 percent of respondents are “very likely” to purchase, and another 9.9 percent are somewhat likely, with 15.8 percent of people saying they “already own” an reader. (That ownership percentage is roughly consistent with what Bowker […]
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Ballantine Bantam Dell publisher Libby McGuire has been promoted from svp to evp. She will continue to oversee the hardcover and mass market publishing programs for the division, reporting to RHPG president Gina Centrello. “With a sales and marketing background, Libby’s marketplace sensibility and decisive leadership is complemented by a wonderful eye for both fiction and nonfiction, for the publishing to support it, and by strong relationship with her colleagues, our authors, and the agent community,” Centrello said in the announcement. Amanda Cook will join Crown as vp, executive editor on February 6, responsible for developing the imprint’s non-fiction list. […]
People
Carrie Thornton has joined HarperCollins as executive editor, It Books. Previously she was executive editor at Dutton. David Kelly has been promoted to deputy editor at the New York Times Book Review, reports children’s editor Pamela Paul. He replaces Bob Harris, who took a buyout at the end of 2011 after more than 29 years at the paper. In the Hachette Digital group: Anthony Goff has been promoted to vp, audio and large print; and Michele McGonigle has been promoted to director of production; Megan Fitzpatrick has been promoted to associate director of marketing and publicity for Hachette Audio. At […]
People: Schwartzman Named Executive Editor at Dutton; Agent Hughes Moves to DCL, Costa Awards, and More
Next week Jill Scwhartzman will join Dutton as executive editor, reporting to Ben Sevier. She was most recently a senior editor at Hyperion. Amy Hughes is joining Dunow, Carlson and Lerner as an agent, specializing in non-fiction in the areas of history, wellness and health, cultural studies, and memoir. She was previously an agent at McCormick & Williams. Ethan Bassoff has joined Lippincott Massie McQuilkin as an agent. He was previously at InkWell Management, after beginning his publishing career as an event host and manager at Brookline Booksmith in Boston. He will continue to focus on literary and commercial fiction, narrative […]
BN Finishes 2011 With Store Closings, and More Bookselling News
Barnes & Noble closed a number of stores across the country at the end of the year, nearly all of them apparently due to lease expirations. The bookseller typically has a large number of leases up for renewal in any given year; they indicated in 2011 that 129 leases will expire and/or renew in 2012, and the company has shown a willingness to close locations where they believe the revised rent is unsustainable. Local news reports indicate that at least seven stores have closed in the following cities (we are awaiting confirmation from the company): Prescott, AZ Los Angeles, CA […]
People, Etc.: Walter Dean Myers Is New Ambassador for Kid’s Literature
Walter Dean Myers, 74, will be announced as the national ambassador for young people’s literature on Tuesday, succeeding Katherine Paterson in the position. The NYT says “the choice of Mr. Myers represents a departure from his predecessors and is likely to be seen as a bold statement. His books chronicle the lives of many urban teenagers, especially young, poor African-Americans. While his body of work includes poetry, nonfiction and the occasional cheerful picture book for children, its standout books offer themes aimed at young-adult readers: stories of teenagers in violent gangs, soldiers headed to Iraq and juvenile offenders imprisoned for […]