Marie-Claire Wastiaux will retire as secretary general and chief financial officer of Hachette Livre on July 1. She will be succeeded by Fabrice Bakhouche, who has been promoted to deputy secretary general and deputy chief financial officer. Hachette Livre ceo Arnaud Nourry said in the announcement: “Marie-Claire Wastiaux’s exactness, skill and enthusiasm have contributed to the growth of our company since 2003. I have hugely appreciated her expertise, work output and dedication and will miss her sorely.” Diana Calice will retire as IPG’s managing director, Spanish distribution program after more than 10 years. Spanish sales manager Kelsey Wayne will succeed […]
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People, Etc.
Maja Thomas has been promoted to chief innovation officer at Hachette Libre and joins the company’s international executive board. Previously svp of Hachette Digital and Audio at HBG USA, Thomas rejoined Hachette Livre last year as director of Hachette’s Innovation Program. Based in California, Thomas “works internationally across the company’s divisions to facilitate collaboration with start-ups and established global technological players, and accelerate digital transformation.” In her new role she “will further support all of Hachette Livre teams as they test, innovate and break new ground, in particular using big data and artificial intelligence.” CEO Arnaud Nourry says in the […]
People: Ursula K. Le Guin Dies, and More
Ursula K. Le Guin, 88, died January 22 at her home in Portland, Oregon. Her son, Theo Downes-Le Guin, told the NYT “she had been in poor health for several months” but did not specify a cause of death. Le Guin was the author of more than 20 novels, including the “Earthsea” series and The Left Hand of Darkness, as well as collections of poetry, short stories, and essays. Her most recent work, published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt at the end of 2017, was No Time to Spare: Thinking About What Matters. Her editor, Naomi Gibbs, said in a statement: […]
People, Etc.
Sue Grafton, 77, author of the Kinsey Millhone series, died of cancer at her home in Santa Barbara on December 28. The alphabetical series began with A is for Alibi in 1982 and continued through her last book, Y Is for Yesterday, published in August 2016. She had not yet begun writing the final book of the series, which was to be titled Z Is for Zero and published August 2019. Her daughter Jamie Clark wrote in a message on Grafton’s Facebook page, “She was adamant that her books would never be turned into movies or TV shows, and in that same vein, she would […]
Briefs: Tody Eady Dies, Plus Sensitivity Questions
In the UK, literary agent Toby Eady died on December 24. David Higham Associates, which acquired Eady’s agency in 2015, noted in a statement, “With great sadness we have to announce the death of our colleague, Toby Eady. Toby was a maverick, a passionate champion of his authors and advocate of their work.” He started Toby Eady Associates in 1968, and Bernard Cornwall was his first client. Self-published hit Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls has become the focus of complaints for featuring Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi as one its 100 great women. As British Labor MP and shadow justice minister […]
Briefs
Harassment Files Both Target and Walmart said that they will drop Mario Batali‘s products — including his cookbooks — from their stores following extensive accusations of sexual harassment. ABC officially fired Batali from their show “The Chew,” and the Food Network dropped plans to create new episodes of his earlier TV show,”Molto Mario.” On Friday, Batali apologized again in his newsletter: “I have made many mistakes and I am so very sorry that I have disappointed my friends, my family, my fans and my team. My behavior was wrong and there are no excuses.” Bookselling Well-known indie That Bookstore in Blytheville […]