Cemetery Dance will publish a new Stephen King novella as a trade hardcover next month, BLOCKADE BILLY. The pitch: “Even diehard baseball fans don’t know the true story of William Blakely, but in just a few weeks you’ll be holding this dark tale in your own two hands so you can read it for yourself.” King comments, “I love old-school baseball, and I also love the way people who’ve spent a lifetime in the game talk about the game. I tried to combine those things in a story of suspense. People have asked me for years when I was going […]
International News
Wiley In Consultation Over Possible STM Job Reductions
The Bookseller reports that Wiley has “begun the consultation process” over a possible change in up to 30 UK-based jobs and another 12 positions elsewhere from their STM division. Spokesperson Susan Spilka says its another step in the integration of Blackwell’s. She emphasized that they will not necessarily eliminate all of the positions that are under discussion, and would try to “redeploy” those people elsewhere in the company. The jobs are within the central marketing services and exhibitions and conference departments, with those functions planned for relocation to the company’s publishing services operations in Singapore.Bookseller
Anonymous Official Says Canada Is "Leaning" Towards Approving Amazon's Expansion Plan
The Canadian Booksellers’ Association has urged the country’s government to reject Amazon’s application to operate their own Canadian-based warehouse and fulfillment operation. But an article in the Globe and Mail quotes an unnamed senior official who indicates the Harper administration is “leaning towards” approving Amazon’s plan, believing there is a “net benefit” to Canadians. That person added, “If you look at the issue specifically, it’s Amazon setting up a warehouse to be able to distribute what they already distribute via the Internet. There’s no change in terms of Canadian content.” Part of the booksellers’ argument is that “individual Canadian booksellers […]
Announcements: Imprints
Lerner Publishing’s Carolrhoda Books is launching a young adult line this fall, Carolrhoda Lab. Speaking of young adult books, yesterday’s Automat link to an LAT piece on the rising popularity of YA novels among adult readers was so heavily re-tweeted that it’s worth a separate link. “Authors may gear their novels toward the junior and senior high crowd, but adults are snapping up the books, often about misfit teens or fantasy worlds…. Attracted by well-written, fast-paced and engaging stories that span the gamut of genres and subjects, such readers have mainstreamed a niche long derided as just for kids.” Kris […]
Asian Prize Changes Focus
For 2010, the Man Asian Literary Prize is “restructuring.” Once focused on works that had not yet been published in English, the new strategy is the inverse: the award will go to “a novel written by a citizen of an Asian country and first published in English in 2010. Translations into English of works originally in another language are also eligible, provided they are first published in English in 2010.” The cash award for the author has been raised to $30,000, and the translator (if any) will receive $5,000 separately.Prize site
Amazon's Canadian Play Is to Open their Own Distribution Center
The Globe and Mail has further information on Amazon’s application to Canada’s government, seeking permission to open their own distribution center within the country. The etailer currently dispatches its Canadian shipments through a unit of Canada Post. HMV Canada president Humphrey Kadaner says, “This would bring Amazon into competition with pretty much every retailer in Canada, assuming they expand their product offering as they have in the States. They really would become much more of a general retailer.” Indigo ceo Heather Reisman says, “This is evolution…. It just needs to be transparent and evenly applied.” She has written to the […]