Dawn Durante will join University of Texas Press as editor in chief on August 10. She was previously senior acquisitions editor at University of Illinois Press. Catherine Zappa has been promoted to publisher and evp of film & television at Dreamscape Media. Rachel Spence has joined The Rights Factory as associate editor. She was previously acquisitions editor at Dundurn Press. Picks Barnes & Noble chose Rachel Beanland‘s Florence Adler Swims Forever as its July book club selection. Book Fairs As expected, Canada will not participate in this year’s actual Frankfurt Book Fair as the featured/paid “guest of honor.” They will […]
Personnel
People, Etc.: Canedy to Lead S&S Imprint
Dana Canedy will become senior vice president and publisher of the Simon & Schuster trade imprint, starting July 27. She has been the administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes since 2017, and previously worked at the New York Times for 20 years. She was a lead writer and editor on the 2001 Pulitzer-winning series “How Race Is Lived in America,” and her roles at the paper including serving as special advisor to the ceo and executive editor on strategic planning, change management, and diversity and inclusion practices. Canedy tells the NYT, “The ultimate goal of the job is to champion the […]
Briefs
The July 8 virtual memorial for Carolyn Reidy will be streamed on You Tube (at 4 PM Eastern) at this open link. In advance, the community is invited to shared their memories at RememberingCarolynReidy.com. Author Rudolfo Anaya, 82, who helped launch the 1970s Chicano Literature Movement, died Sunday from a long illness. Publisher of his novel BLESS ME, ULTIMA since 1994 Grand Central said in a statement, “We will miss his passionate commitment to his local community and community of writers, his humility, and his sense of humor.” Bestselling author Ibram X. Kendi was awarded Boston University’s Andrew W. Mellon […]
“What It’s Like to Be Black in Publishing”
The NYT interviewed eight people from across publishing, who “told us what they are seeing now and what they’ve seen before, how being Black has affected their careers, and what they hope the future will bring.” Editorial director at Amistad, Tracy Sherrod: “There’s only like seven of us Black editors who have some authority, real authority and power — and it’s not full authority and power. Given my sales history, I think if I weren’t a Black woman, I would probably have a higher title….” “I don’t feel comfortable overpaying for a book as an editor of color. I feel […]
Briefs: Strong Opening Sales for Bolton
Simon & Schuster announced Wednesday morning that John Bolton’s THE ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENED: A White House Memoir sold “a total of more than 780,000” units in its first week on sale in the US. Note, however, that the total includes “orders from consumers that are as yet unfulfilled due to extraordinary demand,” which is unusual for a “sales” tabulation by industry practice. (Remember that the publisher told the court it had shipped approximately 200,000 copies to accounts in the US.) The publisher says it has an eleventh printing on the way that will bring the number of hardcovers in […]
People, Etc.
After the recent restructure of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, Simon Pulse senior editors Jen Ung and Nicole Ellul will join Simon & Schuster Children’s, reporting to Kendra Levin; and editor Sarah McCabe will join Margaret K. McElderry Books, reporting to Karen Wojtyla. At Dr. Seuss Enterprises, Shannon Spisak has been promoted to senior director of global marketing & communications and Jenna Marson to manager of global marketing & licensing. Mariana Garavaglia has joined Wiley’s board of directors. Currently chief people and business operations officer at Peloton, she was previously managing director for the Amazon Books and Amazon 4-star stores. […]