Khizr Khan’s speech at the Democratic National Convention has boosted distribution of the US Constitution. A $1 Pocket Constitution published by The National Center for Constitutional Studies — similar to the one Khan displayed during his speech, but not the same edition — moved 45,000 copies on Amazon between Saturday morning and Monday night, spokesperson Dan Sheridan told the WSJ. After announcing they would give free copies of their pocket Constitution until Election Day, the American Civil Liberties Union says it has received approximately 80,000 orders. Little Brown celebrated the recent launch of James Patterson’s BookShots with a press release declaring he “has ignited a […]
News
Oprah Picks Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad
Oprah’s latest Book Club pick, her first in approximately 18 months, is Colson Whitehead’s new novel The Underground Railroad. Originally scheduled for release on September 13, Doubleday has pushed up publication and the book, emblazoned with the Oprah Book Club logo, is on sale today. (The most recent Oprah pick was Cynthia Bond’s Ruby, in February 2015.) In a short video, Oprah begins, “Oh, have I found a great book!” while describing why she chose The Underground Railroad. There is a special page devoted to the pick on Amazon, where Winfrey adds: “This book has kept me up at night, had my heart […]
Briefs: Johnson’s Book on Shakespeare Delayed or Cancelled, and More
Newly appointed UK foreign secretary and Brexit campaign leader Boris Johnson‘s forthcoming book on Shakespeare, scheduled for release on November 15 from Hodder & Stoughton and Riverhead, will not be published this year, and may not be published at all according to the Daily Mail. They report Johnson “is believed to be having to pay back a £500,000 advance” to Hodder & Stoughton having “conceded he doesn’t have the time” to write the book. A spokesperson for Riverhead put it differently, writing: “In light of his new responsibilities in the UK, Boris Johnson will be unable to complete his book […]
Penguin Random House Sells Fodor’s to Internet Brands
Penguin Random House will sell Fodor’s Travel to Internet Brands, a Los Angeles-based online media and technology company that owns FlyerTalk.com and Wikitravel.org. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, and deal is expected to close shortly. Fodor’s will become part of Internet Brands’ consumer Home/Travel group, though PRH, which acquired the 80-year-old company in 1986, will continue to sell and distribute Fodor’s print guides to the book trade on behalf of Internet Brands. As Fodor’s was integrated into a division containing PRH Audio and Living Language, publisher Amanda D’Acierno and publicity director Katie Punia “very much continue with us”, according […]
On the Watchlist: Federal Overtime Changes Would Affect Publishing
The Department of Labor has issued new rules regarding overtime pay that, if implemented, would significantly lift the minimum salary level at which white collar and creative employees are exempt from overtime pay requirements — going from the current $23,660 per year up to a new level of $47,476 per year. The new rule is scheduled for implementation on December 1. But “Republican lawmakers, who are close to many of the industries that oppose the new rule, have vowed to block it during a mandated congressional review period,” the NYT reports. If adopted, the new rules could have broad applicability […]
Briefs
Children’s book author Beverly Cleary appeared on the Today Show, in advance of her 100th birthday, on April 12. The WSJ has short profiles of “six of the world’s most esteemed translators” (by “world” they mean the world of translating other languages into English): Don Bartlett, Jamey Gambrell, Ann Goldstein, Edith Grossman, Lydia Davis, and Michael Hofmann. The Romance Writers of America named the finalists for their annual RITA Awards, with the winers to be announced July 16 at their annual conference. J.K. Rowling is receiving a lot of attention for sharing via Twitter two form letter rejections of her first […]