Barnes & Noble has demanded a jury trial to fight former employee Barbara Tavres’ claim that the company violated state and federal labor law by discriminating against her and other employees on the basis of age. In a response filed January 13 in the Northern District of California, BN denied all Tavres’ claims, writing repeatedly that “Plaintiff’s performance reviews speak for themselves.” They insist that no basis for a class action exists, writing that, “Any and all employment actions taken with respect to plaintiff and the putative class were not based on any discriminatory motive or in retaliation for any […]
Legal
Audible and Publishers Settle Captions Dispute
After an encouraging update in late December, Audible reports to federal judge Valerie Caproni that the company has finalized a settlement with the seven AAP publishers that sued to block the digital audio company’s planned Captions features. Audible attorney Emily Reisbaum wrote on behalf of all parties on January 13, the date an update had been promised: “We are pleased to inform the Court that the parties have resolved their disputes. The parties respectfully request until January 21 to allow the parties to obtain signatures on the settlement documents and submit them to the Court for its consideration and approval.” […]
People: Kachka to Become LA Times Books Editor, and More
New York magazine and Vulture writer and books editor Boris Kachka is leaving his position to become books editor at the Los Angeles Times. The LAT said in an announcement, “We’re pleased to announce that Boris Kachka is joining The Times as books editor. Boris comes to us from New York magazine, where has been books editor for the last few years, and a writer and editor for two decades…In recent years he has substantially expanded the magazine’s book coverage across all of its verticals, overseeing excerpts, stories on new authors and titles, publishing news, and more.” Julia Turner, deputy […]
People, Etc.
Sharon Shell has joined Independent Publishers Group as director of library & education sales. She was previously director of implementation, sales operations at Scholastic. Daniel O’Connor has been promoted to senior sales manager at Bloomsbury. Jacqui Lipton has founded Raven Quill Literary Agency, representing authors of books for children and young adults. Lipton is an attorney and a law professor, and author of Law & Authors: A Legal Handbook for Writers. For people who want to stop by and pay their respects, there will be a viewing of Sonny Mehta on Friday, January 3, from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM […]
Audible Attorney Says “Only a Few Outstanding Issues Remain” on Captions Settlement
Audible and the publishers who sued the company over the planned Captions feature adding scrolling text to audiobooks may be close to a resolution. According to Audible attorney Emily Reisbaum, in a letter to Judge Valerie Caproni on December 27, “there are only a few outstanding issues requiring further negotiation.” In that update, Reisbaum, saying “we write on behalf of all parties,” asked the court for still more time to continue negotiations. Given that they have been asking for extensions since the beginning of October, Judge Caproni had ordered on December 18 that “any further request for suspension of consideration […]
People, Etc.
Jessica Breen will join Basic Books as marketing director on January 6. She is currently digital marketing strategist at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Cassandra Pelham Fulton has been promoted to editorial director, Graphix. Due to an editing error, we left out Sasha Quinton’s first name from yesterday’s announcement on her move to Scholastic. Bookselling New bookstore Still North Books and Bar opened in Hanover, NH on Thursday. The Barnes & Noble in Greenfield, WI near Southridge Mall will close in summer 2020 when its lease expires. A hospital and primary care clinic will move into the space. Legal The European Court of […]