HarperCollins UK and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt will release JRR Tolkien‘s translation of BEOWULF on May 22. The manuscript, long available in the archives of the Bodleian Library but never published, was first finished in 1926 “before he became professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford” according to his son Christopher, who edited the 2,000-page work for publication. “[JRR Tolkien] returned to it only for hasty and cursory correction in later years, yet much light would be shed on this translation in his University lectures that were expressly devoted to the text, and from them a commentary has been devised for this book,” […]
How Publishing Works
Briefs: Trudeau Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison; Carnegie & Greenaway Awards Shortlists; and More
Allen Guelzo has won the inaugural Guggenheim-Lehrman Prize in Military History for GETTYSBURG: The Last Invasion (Knopf). The $50,000 prize was announced Monday night at a ceremony held at the New-York Historical Society. The Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medal shortlists were announced this morning, with the winners to be named on June 23. Anne Fine, Rebecca Stead, and Susan Cooper landed on the Carnegie list, while Jon Klassen appears twice on the Greenaway shortlist for THIS IS NOT MY HAT and THE DARK (text by Lemony Snicket). Onetime bestselling weight-loss “guru” and infomercial staple Kevin Trudeau was sentenced to 10 […]
People, Etc.
At Other Press, Jessica Greer has been promoted to publicity director. At Henry Holt, Serena Jones has been promoted to senior editor, while Paul Golob moves over as executive editor while continuing to manage the imprint’s relationship with the New York Times. Both Jones and Golob will report to Gillian Blake. Ashley Gilliam has joined Scribner as assistant publishing manager. Previously she was an editorial assistant at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Legato Publishing will distribute children’s book publishers Chouette Publishing and Cuento de Luz as of January 1, 2014. Knopf vp, executive editor Jordan Pavlin is the latest subject of Poets […]
Simon & Schuster, Barnes & Noble Resolve Terms Dispute
After more than eight months of contention, Barnes & Noble and Simon & Schuster have resolved their terms dispute, which agents, authors and some at the publisher itself say resulted in significantly reduced orders and display of S&S books in the bookseller’s stores since January. In a joint statement both Barnes & Noble and S&S said they “look forward to promoting great books by Simon & Schuster authors.” A letter to authors and agents from ceo Carolyn Reidy elaborated a little more on the resolution. Reidy thanked them for their support “during this most difficult period”, adding that she and […]
Hothouse Views
With Tuesday’s release of Boris Kachka’s HOTHOUSE, multiple takes on publishing are available this week. Robert Gottlieb‘s own condensed version of the history of FSG in the New Yorker is well worth reading, and includes some of his own asides. (“Alfred [Knopf] really promoted that borzoi, convincing a lot of people that ‘A Borzoi Book’ guaranteed quality. Readers couldn’t know that the Knopfs thought borzois were a particularly stupid breed of dog.”) Gottlieb finds “this vigorous and often diverting trot through the history of an important cultural institution is frequently slapdash and overwrought in its determination to show just how […]
BISG Looks to Update Mission for Changing Times
At the close of Wednesday’s Making Information Pay conference, current BISG (Book Industry Study Group) chairman and Hachette Book Group president Ken Michaels addressed the importance of industry cooperation, particularly now that a simple “linear, rational, supply chain that we recognize and understand…no longer exists.” He asked, “the most important question I can convey from the podium today is this…. Can you really go it alone in isolation without participation in an industry group like BISG?” At a time when many have been intimidated about working together, even on common problems, Michaels said, “The important thing is that BISG continues […]