The winding down of Byliner.com continues with the departure of co-founder and ceo John Tayman. He told contributors in an email on Sunday, “I’ve stepped down as Byliner’s CEO, but I’ll be forever thankful for the opportunity to work with and for you,” the NY Observer reports. Tayman is the one who, when we queried him in early May about reports that Byliner was looking for a buyer and would have to wind down within a month or so if no purchaser came forward, declined to respond and reportedly instructed staff to keep quiet. Co-founder Mark Bryant left the company […]
International News
People, Etc.
Lisa Barnes has moved over to the Random House Speakers Bureau as assistant agent director. Previously she was assistant director of publicity at Ballantine Bantam Dell. Julie MacKay has joined The Robbins Office as foreign rights manager. Previously she worked in the foreign rights department at Janklow & Nesbit. Julianne Lewis has joined February Media as publicist. Previously she worked in marketing and publicity for the South Carolina Book Festival. Hilary Mantel was named a Dame of the British Empire as part of the Queen’s Birthday Honors. KF Literary Scouting is now scouting for V&R Editoras in Brazil and Latin […]
Digital Etc.: More Google Play Books, Guild Statement, and A Wiley Buy
Google Play Books is in the process of adding 13 countries to the roster of territories where their service is live. Norway, the Netherlands and Colombia have already been added, with Paraguay, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Ecuador, Uruguay, Panama, Honduras, and Dominican Republic coming soon. A Google Plus post announced the new additions prematurely, but they will bring the service up to 55 countries in all. The Authors Guild posted a statement about the Appeals Court ruling in the Hathi Trust case. Despite the defeat, the Guild remains firm that, “We continue to believe that it is fundamentally unfair […]
People, Etc.
President and director of paperback sales at Penguin Norman Lidofsky will retire at the end of 2014 after more than 32 years with the company. In a staff memo, Penguin Random House president and coo Madeline McIntosh praised Lidofsky’s “sales leadership, book passion, and dedication” and called him “a generous and thoughtful colleague, an inspiring leader, and above all—a consummate salesman working unceasingly in support of Penguin’s books, authors, and publishers.” McIntosh added: “[Lidofsky] has led the way in building the trade paperback program into an industry force… He has helped to keep Penguin Classics vibrant, sustaining its presence as one of […]
People
Founding partner of Folio Literary Management Paige Wheeler will relaunch her previous company, Creative Media Agency, as an affiliate of Folio, relinquishing her partner role and focusing on client management. Wheeler said in the announcement: “I have had a tremendous amount of fun in starting and growing Folio to become a powerful and important agency in a fast-changing industry. Now, though, I’d like to focus more of my efforts on client management. Relaunching CMA as an affiliate of Folio is the best of both worlds — I get the flexibility I want with the support of Folio behind me.” Rachel Marks is joining Rebecca Friedman […]
Europe’s Anti-Trust Authorities “Looking Into” Hachette/Amazon Dispute
EU investigations are generally slow, even by government standards, but in the case of disputes between publishers and Amazon over terms, the Competition Commission is taking a rare lead, at least in terms of inquiry. Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia told reporters in London in an aside that “we are trying to understand what’s going on there. We are looking into this and trying to understand.” The short Reuters piece focuses on Amazon and French-based Hachette/Lagardere, but if they are looking into steps taken by Amazon to influence terms negotiations, it’s logical that they might talk to Bonnier about their experiences in Germany […]