The Davis-Kidd saga continues in unexpected but hopeful ways. After Neil Van Uum lost out to his Lexington landlord Robert Langley in bidding for three of the Joseph-Beth bookstores, it now looks as if Van Uum has prevailed over Langley’s group in arranging to keep the Memphis Davis-Kidd location operating as a bookstore. The store’s Memphis landlord Tom Prewitt had backed Van Uum’s original bid for some of the bookstores. In the initial bankruptcy auction, liquidator Gordon Brothers Retail bought the assets of the Memphis store. But a new group led by Van Uum, DK Booksellers, “has agreed to purchase […]
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Dallas-based literary agent David Hale Smith has joined Inkwell Management as an agent, bringing along his list featuring crime, suspense and thriller writers as well as literary fiction and nonfiction that ranges from narrative history and business to health & wellness and cookbooks. InkWell partner Michael Carlisle says in the announcement, “Inkwell’s success has come from the collegial atmosphere among our colleagues and the quality of our clients. It is with special pleasure that we invited David Hale Smith to join our ranks. He represents some of the best young writers of our time with whom we will be working […]
Bookselling: Fees for Members and Author Events, As Borders Investigates Rewards Database Exposure
Special Occasions in Winston-Salem, NC, “one of the largest black-owned bookstores between Washington and Atlanta,” will close in late May after 27 years in business. Owners Miriam and Ed McCarter attribute it to “the weak economy and competition from e-books and online booksellers.” News-Record The Boulder Book Store will charge fees of between five and ten dollars to attend most of their author events in the future–and will give attendees five dollars off the purchase price of the books featured at those events. marketing and promotions manager Stephanie Schindhelm says, “We want to encourage people to spend their money locally […]
People: Wasserman Joins Yale UP
Steve Wasserman has joined Yale University Press as executive editor-at-large, General Interest books. “Steve’s fascinating and varied career has put him at the center of public intellectual life in America,” said Yale UP director John Donatich. “He will bring great things to Yale Press’s unique program in publishing serious and scholarly works to the trade.” The former LA Times books editor will remain with Kneerim & Williams as a literary agent, and will not represent any of the firm’s clients in any negotiations with Yale. Rhea Lyons has joined Franklin & Siegal Associates as literary scout. She was previously subrights […]
People, Etc.
Lynda Zuber Sassi has been named director of special sales for Ryland Peters & Small and CICO Books. She was previously a national accounts manager at Chronicle Books. Effective May 1, Square One Books will be distributed by Thomas Allen & Son. Previously they were distributed by the University of Toronto Press. At Simon & Schuster Children’s, Andrea Welch has been promoted to senior editor, Beach Lane Books. Greg Britton will join the Johns Hopkins University Press as editorial director on May 16, where he will also be a senior member of the press’s executive committee. Previously he led the […]
People
Paul Whitlatch has been promoted to associate editor at Scribner. At Simon & Schuster Children’s, Anna McKean has been promoted to publicity manager.