In the vein of their new Harper Germany publishing line, HarperCollins has created Harper Iberica to publish in Spain and Portugal, and Harper Espanol to publish Spanish-language books in North and South America. Larry Downs is svp and publisher for Harper Espanol, which will publish approximately 50 books a year, and Luis Pugni is managing director of Harper Iberica, which aims to publish approximately 30 titles. To lead the initiatives, Harper has acquired world Spanish rights in all formats to Harper Lee’s forthcoming Go Set a Watchman, and it has picked up print and audio rights for To Kill a Mockingbird. CEO […]
New Releases/Forthcoming
Paula Deen Books to Return This Fall, Distributed By HBG
Paula Deen returns to book publishing this fall, issuing her titles through Paula Deen Ventures, the company she launched in early 2014 with backing from Najafi Media. The company announced an agreement with Hachette Book Group to sell and distribute her titles throughout the world. The first planned new title is Deen Cuts the Fat, for publication September 8, and PDV plans reissues of at least some of Deen’s previous titles, including The Lady & Sons, A Savannah Country Cookbook, and The Lady & Sons, Too! Deen tells People Magazine the book has “200 amazing light recipes.” She notes, “I cut the calories […]
Another Found Manuscript: Dr. Seuss’s What Pet Should I Get?
In the fall of 2013 the late Ted Geisel’s widow Audrey and the author’s longtime secretary and friend Claudia Prescott rediscovered an original unpublished manuscript and sketches — along with other materials — first found shortly after Ted’s death in 1991, while cleaning his office space. Random House Children’s will publish the rediscovered WHAT PET SHOULD I GET? on July 28. And the publisher says in their announcement that “at least two more books will be published from the materials discovered, with titles and publication dates to be announced.” Called “nearly complete” as found, believed to be written “somewhere between 1958 and 1962,” the […]
Forthcoming: Tor.com’s List, and Not the Watchman Cover
The Tor.com publishing imprint announced last May will begin publishing 3 to 4 titles a month starting in September. A blog post introduces six of their early titles, as senior editor Lee Harris writes: “We’ve been working hard to find some great novellas to launch our line, and we’ve been delighted by the quality and breadth of the stories we received.” Meanwhile, director of publicity at Harper Collins Tina Andreadis clarifies for USA Today that the jacket design for Harper Lee’s forthcoming Go Set A Watchman posted on some bookselling sites recently was just a placeholder. But the sparse design […]
People, Etc.
Director of order management at Simon & Schuster Francine Leinheiser will retire on February 27 after more than 38 years with the company, and 12 years in her current position. In a statement, vp, distribution & fulfillment Dave Schaeffer praised Leinheiser as “a true Simon & Schuster lifer,” adding: “We will remember her as an organizer, a communicator, a cheerful presence and a true professional who played a major role in our success in bringing thousands of titles to our accounts on time. Now she will have some time to read many of the books that she, like many of […]
Cynthia Bond’s RUBY is Latest Oprah Pick; Krakauer’s MISSOULA to Publish April 21
Oprah’s revived Book Club, which now only picks books about once a year, has selected Cynthia Bond’s debut novel RUBY as its latest choice. (Its previous selection, in early 2014, was THE INVENTION OF WINGS by Sue Monk Kidd.) The novel was published in hardcover last April by Hogarth to a modest reception. Those who reviewed it praised the book but it was overlooked by all of the major outlets, with hardcover sales as recorded by Nielsen Bookscan under 3,000. The publisher has announced a first paperback printing of 250,000 copies (with the Oprah book club logo) and a special digital […]