GOING CLEAR, the book-length investigation into Scientology by LOOMING TOWER author Lawrence Wright, will be published on January 17 by Knopf in the US, but the UK edition will not go forward as planned. The NYT reported as part of a profile on Wright that Transworld “recently canceled its plans to publish GOING CLEAR, though a spokeswoman insisted that the decision was not made in response to threats from the church.” Transworld spokesperson Patsy Irwin told the Bookseller “We’ve decided [GOING CLEAR] doesn’t fit in with our schedule.” The Wylie Agency is selling UK rights to the book, but had not […]
New Releases/Forthcoming
People, Etc.
At Penguin Group’s Portfolio, Sentinel, and Current imprints, Kristen Gastler has been hired as a senior publicist (she was at Doubleday). Margot Stamas has moved over to the group as a publicist from Putnam and Riverhead; Christy D’Agostini has been promoted to senior publicist; and Jacquelynn Burke has been promoted to publicist. Last Friday Gawker “published here for the first time” Lena Dunham‘s highly-designed and illustrated 66-page book proposal, which you think would be protected by copyright. (They also dragged Scribd.com into the potential infringement by using the service to host and post the PDF.) When we contacted Random House […]
Amazon Publishing to Open European Branch Under Griffith
While Amazon did not respond directly to our request for information for Kindle sales information for THE FOUR-HOUR CHEF, company publishing vp Jeff Belle claims in a letter (posted in full by PaidContent) that their total sale is over 60,000 units so far (or roughly 30,000 of those $4.99 ebooks in addition to the print sales we reported on Wednesday morning; the December 9 NYT bestseller lists show FOUR-HOUR CHEF at No. 4 on the advice, how-to and misc. list). Belle says the Ferriss book was the bestselling nonfiction title for the week, though their own list for all of […]
Ferriss Falls Short of Sales Goal So Far, Behind Garten (and Others)
Despite his well-covered persecution publicity pitch, it looks as if Tim Ferriss will come up short of his proclaimed goal for THE FOUR-HOUR CHEF of “hit[ting] #1 on BookScan to send a message to the incumbent world of publishing, to those who want everything to remain in the 1900’s.” For the week ending November 25, its first week on sale, the hardcover edition sold approximately 29,000 copies as tracked by Nielsen Bookscan. (Since nearly all sales were likely via Amazon and BN.com, the service likely captures nearly all of the print sales.) That puts the book at No. 3 on […]
Harper Extends “Impulse” Brand with Teen Digital Imprint
HarperCollins will launch another digital-focused imprint, Harper Teen Impulse, publishing short fiction for teens. The new line launches December 4 with a novella by Sophie Jordan, BREATHLESSS, and a futuristic novella from Scott Westerfeld, STUPID PERFECT WORLD, both selling for $1.99. The company indicates it will publish up to 4 ebooks a month, priced from 99 cents to $2.99. Harper Children’s president and publisher Susan Katz says, “We’re seeing short-form content becoming more popular in the digital marketplace, and HarperTeen Impulse allows us to experiment with new concepts and deliver content quickly.” The name echoes Avon Impulse, another of Harper’s […]
Approved, Moved and Announced
The government has finally stopped punishing the Penguin Group for NO EASY DAY and has truly cleared General Stanley McChrystal‘s book MY SHARE OF THE TASK for publication. They’ll miss the holiday period, and the book will publish January 7. Otherwise, it’s safe to assume that anyone with a book on General David Petraeus has moved up their planned publication date by a couple of weeks. Also just announced for the beginning of the year is Lawrence Wright‘s long-awaited book on the Church of Scientology, GOING CLEAR: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief. Knopf will publish on January 17.