Prairie Lights Bookstore is teaming up with the University of Iowa Press to publish a handful of books annually, starting with Philip Levine’s poetry collection SWEET WILL. The Iowa Press-Citizen reports Prairie Lights will act as the publisher, while UI Press will produce, design and distribute the books. Store co-owner Jan Weissmiller told the paper there aren’t any strict guidelines on what will be published, but the work “will likely be fiction, poetry and literary non-fiction, rather than history or journalism.” The LA Times profiled recently-opened bookstore Bank of Books, Malibu, highlighting the “novel ways” the store attracts customers, including […]
Obits
People
Mark Bloomfield has joined Regnery as director of sales. Previously he was associate publisher at Harvard Business School Press. Deputy publisher of Gallery, Threshold and Pocket Anthony Ziccardi has left the company after seven years. His last day was December 3. Going forward, Ziccardi’s responsibilities will be handled by an associate publisher and a marketing director, both of which will be newly created positions within the group. Colin McGee is no longer with Sellers Publishing. He can be reached at colinmcgee@maine.rr.com. Longtime literary agent Robert Lescher, 83, died November 28. Christopher Davis, 71, who worked at Dorling Kindersley since its […]
People, Etc.
At Ingram’s library services business, Dan Sheehan was promoted to vp and general manager in September. Pamela Smith will join the unit on December 3 as vp of global sales for the library business. She was most recently an svp at Follett. Powell’s Books has created an ale of their own in collaboration with Rogue Ales and Spirits. Their White Whale Ale is “infused with the seafaring spirit of Moby-Dick“–literally. They say that “Michael and Emily Powell took sheets from the book and, along with Rogue Brewmaster John Maier, placed them into the brew kettle.” Judy Morse, who retired as […]
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 […]
People and Remembrances
At Berrett-Koehler, Zoe Mackey has been promoted to online marketing and international sales manager. Samantha Dighton has joined D4EO Literary Agency as an agent, based in Washington, D.C. She worked The Sagalyn Agency. Christina (Kit) Ward, 59, founder of the Christina Ward Literary Agency, most recently co-owner of The Ward and Balkin Agency, and formerly an acquiring editor at Little, Brown in Boston, passed away November 19 after a brief illness. Her colleague writes: “Kit was a brilliant editor and champion for her authors whose work ranged from bestselling literary fiction to gardening books and nature writing, to poetry. She was a […]
Remembrances: Davis, Rosenblatt, Geiser and O’Connor
Chief financial officer of Random House Anne Davis, 50, passed away Monday after a battle with cancer. CEO Markus Dohle writes: “Anne was more than a brilliant CFO. She was our anchor, our heart, our inspiration. She not only made our company much more successful, she made it a better place to work, and for those of us who knew her personally, she made us better people.” She joined the company in 1995 as assistant controller. Hachette Book Group senior national accounts manager working with B&N Judy Rosenblatt passed away last weekend from ovarian cancer. A longtime member of the […]