A rash of copies of the embargoed Steve Jobs biography were purchased by news organizations yesterday, which may dampen the appeal of Fortune’s “exclusive” excerpt which is still being held for Monday. The AP recounts that he raged at one-time Apple board member Eric Schmidt in 2010 when a Google Android phone appeared with iPhone-like features. “I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple’s $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong,” Jobs said. “I’m going to destroy Android, because it’s a stolen product. I’m willing to go […]
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People: B&N CFO Lombardi Steps Down
Barnes & Noble’s chief financial officer Joseph Lombardi has resigned his position, and corporate controller Allen Lindstrom will act as interim CFO while the company conducts an executive search. Lombardi will stay on as a non-officer employee until the middle of next year “to assist in the transition.” CEO William Lynch says in the announcement, “We’ve built great bench strength and continuity in our finance department over the years, and everyone from the management team to the board of directors has the utmost confidence in Allen as he assumes the interim CFO position. We thank Joe for his service to […]
People: Algonquin Moves Into YA/Middle Grade Book Publishing
Algonquin Books will start publishing young adult and middle grade books by the end of 2012 and has hired Elise Howard, formerly svp and associate publisher of HarperCollins Children’s Books, to oversee the program. Howard plans to start the new list with up to a half dozen titles next year and build “gradually” from there. She will work out of Algonquin’s New York office, starting in mid-November. “Developing a brand-new young adult and middle-grade readers’ list is a rare opportunity,” Howard said in the announcement. “The really thrilling challenge is to do it within a program as esteemed as Algonquin’s, […]
People, Etc.
At Crown, Rica Allannic has been promoted to executive editor, Clarkson Potter, and Kate Tyler has been promoted to publicity director, Crown Illustrated, which comprises the Clarkson Potter, Potter Craft, Potter Style, Watson-Guptill, and Amphoto Books imprints. Kim Small has also been named publicity director for Potter Style, in addition to directing publicity for Potter Craft, Watson-Guptill, and Amphoto Books. Laura Meyer will join Harper UK as chief information officer in mid-January 2012, reporting to coo Keith Mullock. Meyer, who will be tasked with the responsibility of upgrading the publisher’s systems to deal with the change towards digital, will also […]
People, Etc.
At St. Martin’s, Jeff Dodes has been appointed to the new position of evp, marketing and digital media strategy. He will direct the creative development, marketing and financial planning for all titles from St. Martin’s and its imprints. Most recently, he led the marketing and digital media department for Sony Music’s Jive Label Group. Sally Richardson and Matthew Shear, to whom Dodes will report, comment in the announcement: “Jeff brings a whole new level of expertise to our marketing efforts. He not only has a superior knowledge of what has worked in the past but also a keen sense of […]
Lauren Myracle’s Book Is Withdrawn From the National Book Awards
After it became clear last week–in less than straight-forward fashion–that Lauren Myracle’s young adult book SHINE was erroneously named as a National Book Award finalist, the title has now been withdrawn from the competition and no longer appears on the National Book Foundation’s website. Myracle says in a release from publisher Amulet that she “was asked to withdraw by the National Book Foundation to preserve the integrity of the award and the judges’ work” on Friday and agreed to do so. In recognition of the error and, we imagine, the sloppy process of dealing with that mistake, the NBF “has […]