Longtime publishing attorney and investor Richard Gallen, 80, died on December 3 of complications from Parkinson’s disease. He began his career in 1961 as an attorney with Dell Publishing. In the 1970s and 1980s, Gallen ran a wide variety of publishing enterprises and he provided financial backing and counsel to Baen Books, Tor, Publishers Group West, Carroll & Graf, and, most recently, in 2008, The Experiment. He also cofounded GSL Publishing Associates, in 1996, with Tony Schulte and David Lamb, which operated until 2011. Those wishing to make memorial gifts are asked to considerthe Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research or the […]
International News
Friday Fun: New Shteyngart Trailer, Italian Stepford Wives, and Publishers’ Image
Gary Shteyngart aims for a Little Failure with his new memoir, publishing on January 7. James Franco returns in Shteyngart’s latest amusing trailer, this time playing Shteyngart’s husband and competing author (“Fifty Shades of Gary”). The short also features Rashida Jones, and Jonathan Franzen as the author’s therapist (“I’m so sorry; I’ve got to stop speaking the truth out loud.”), among others. Separately, the Telegraph “is appalled” by an Italian bestseller Cásate y Sé Sumisa (Get Married and Be Submissive), said to have sold almost 100,000 copies, that has just been published in Spain and selling well online there, too. A […]
Penguin Random House Takes Full Ownership of South Africa’s Random House Struik
Penguin Random House has taken full control over South Africa-based Random House Struik, buying out the 50.1 majority ownership stake owned by Times Media Group’s New Holland Publishing. Random House Struik came about from a 2008 merger between Random House South Africa and Struik Publishers, and the entity will “now work in close cooperation” with Penguin South Africa “with a view to integrating the businesses within Penguin Random House in 2014.” The purchase is consistent with PRH’s buyout of Penguin India’s longtime partner Ananda Publishers in October, and Random House’s acquisition a year ago of the other half of what […]
Bloomsbury Commissions Illustrated Harry Potters
In the UK, Bloomsbury announced that they have commissioned “fully illustrated” editions of all seven Harry Potter books, intending to publish one volume a year annually starting in September 2015. Kate Greenaway Medal-winning illustration Jim Kay was selected for what he calls “the commission of a lifetime.” The Guardian writes that Kay “has reimagined Harry for a new generation of readers, in a style that nods to Daniel Radcliffe’s portrayal of the boy wizard in the film versions of the novels, and captures the character of Harry in the books.” Bloomsbury aspires to license simultaneous publication of the illustrated versions […]
People, Etc.
Gina Rizzo has joined Harper Children’s as senior publicist. She was a publicist at Tarcher/Penguin. Gillian Flynn‘s GONE GIRL will finally be published in paperback by Broadway Books on April 22, 2014. Crown says the novel, whose adaptation to film will be released next fall, has sold more than 4 million copies in hardcover and ebook in the US and an additional 2 million copies internationally. Osprey Publishing has acquired British Wildlife Publishing. The company produces field guildes and books on British natural history along with two magazines. Founders Andrew Branson and Anne Branson will leave the business, and the unit […]
France’s Second Largest Bookstore Chain Files for Bankruptcy
The quickly deteriorating situation at France’s Chapitre bookstore chain has led the subsidiary of Najafi-owned Actissia to file for bankruptcy. The group employees 1,200 people at 57 stores across France. In recent weeks, the country’s largest bookseller Fnac had indicated some interest in acquiring up to 20 of Chapitre’s stores in medium-sized cities where Fnac does not have a presence. A number of publishers had stopped shipping to Chapitre after the parent company announced in early October it would sell off the stores (or close them in no buyers could be found).