At Viking, Allison Lorentzen has been promoted to senior editor. Alive Communications’ start-up sister company, the epublisher Bondfire Books, has hired Patton Dodd from Patheos.com to become executive editor. Founder Rick Christian says that “burgeoning sales and opportunity” since their soft launch in May drove the hire. World Book Night US updated on the activity “two major new committees for the 2013 campaign” in an announcement. Their steering committee “has been meeting weekly to set strategy and priorities for year two” and a media strategy is focusing on key publicity goals. Additional committees are being formed to focus on author events, […]
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As of Spring 2013, the Potter Style imprint at Clarkson Potter will expand its scope to encompass interior design, style, and wedding books in addition to the gift books already published by the imprint. As a result, Potter senior editor Aliza Fogelson and associate editor Angelin Borsics will also acquire books for Potter Style. Borsics will now report to Fogelson, who continues to report to Doris Cooper. “With this realignment, Potter is even better positioned to leverage our unparalleled editorial strength and directed publishing strategies to foster our authors’ audience growth and brand development and to extend our market reach […]
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At Crown, Julian Pavia moves from the Archetype imprint to the trade paperback editorial team as editor, reporting to Sheila O’Shea. Pavia will acquire trade paperback originals for the Broadway Books list, with an emphasis on those types of genre fiction that lend themselves to innovative publishing approaches. He will also work on conversions and occasionally acquire titles for the Crown hardcover list. Founding editor of Cosmopolitan magazine and author of SEX AND THE SINGLE GIRL Helen Gurley Brown, 90, died Monday afternoon at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center. Simon & Schuster announced the title and subject of Bob Woodward‘s […]
Wiley to Sell Frommer’s to Google
Wiley announced Monday morning it has “entered into a definitive agreement to sell all of its travel assets, including all of its interests in the Frommer’s brand,” to Google. The deal is said to include approximately 350 travel guides and the Frommers.com website. Terms of the sale were not released, which seems a little silly, since it’s material enough to Wiley that they will report it eventually. “A person close to the deal” tells the NYT Google will pay about $23 million, while “a person briefed on the deal” tells the WSJ the price is “around $25 million.” That’s not inconsistent with the size […]
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Kristin Meenagh has joined Ryland Peters and Small as publicity associate. She was previously with Raab Associates. Jean Merrill, author of more than 30 novels for children that dealt with themes of underdogs beating the odds, died August 2 at her home in Randolph, VT. She was 89 and the cause of death was cancer. Merrill’s work included THE PUSHCART WAR (1964), THE TOOTHPASTE MILLIONAIRE (1974), and THE GIRL WHO LOVED CATERPILLARS (1992). NYT Obit Sami Rohr, 86, the philanthropist honored by an annual prize for Jewish Literature that bears his name (endowed by his children), died last Sunday in […]
People: Random UK Creates Division for Licensing and More
Random House UK has created a division, Random House Enterprises, to pursue “multi-platform business opportunities across TV, licensing and merchandising, gaming and live events.” Former vp of international consumer products at Discovery Communications Jo Edwards has been hired as head of licensing. She will report to group commerical director Nigel Waters. Publicity director at Jonathan Cape and Bodley Head Chloe Johnson-Hill moves over to RHE as manager for events. Humorist/essayist David Rakoff, 47, died Thursday night in Manhattan after a three-year battle with cancer. A frequent contributor to This American Life, Rakoff authored the essay collections FRAUD (2001) DON’T GET […]