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 […]
Personnel
People, Etc.
Mary McCue has been promoted to director of publicity at Random House Children’s. At Holiday House, Emily Mannon has been promoted to marketing coordinator. Emily Campisano has been promoted to associate publicist. The Association of American University Presses has formally changed its name to the Association of University Presses (AUPresses). Executive Director Peter Berkery comments in the announcement, “Updating our name is simultaneously a return to roots and a flowering outwards, embracing what makes our members so essential to scholarly, civic, and cultural life.” In the UK, The Good Agency, a literary agency founded by Julia Kingsford and editor of The Good Immigrant, Nikesh Shukla, […]
People, Etc.
Sean Murray has been promoted to executive director of sales for Sourcebooks, where has worked for 17 years. Chin-Yee Lai will join Basic Books as creative director starting January 2. She has worked as a freelance art director at Norton for eleven years, and designed jackets for publishers including Penguin Random House, Grove Atlantic, FSG, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Jess Brallier will leave his position as vp and publisher of Abrams Plus business group at the end of the year. Bloomsbury Publishing group finance director Wendy Pallot will leave the company after a 12-month notice period to join Euromoney Institutional Investor. A […]
People, Etc.
At Random House Children’s, Kristin Schulz has been promoted to manager, school & library marketing. Emily Petrick has been promoted to assistant manager, school & library marketing. Joyce Lin has joined Chronicle Books as food and lifestyle publicist. Previously she was a culinary publicity associate at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. PEN America announced longlists for their 2018 Literary Awards. Prizes include the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize For Debut Fiction, the PEN Open Book Award, the PEN Translation Prize, and four other awards, with ten finalists in each category.
People, Etc.
Michelle R. Ferguson joined Abrams on December 18 in the new role of senior vice president and chief operating officer. Most recently she was svp of workplace strategies for McGraw-Hill. Abrams president and ceo Michael Jacobs said, “Michelle is both a consummate professional and a personable, down-to-earth problem-solver with lots of energy and the desire to both teach and learn. The drive and the passion she’ll bring to Abrams will be a real asset to the company as we continue to evolve.” Distribution Ampersand will distribute Canadian northwest coast regional publisher Hancock House Publishers. Simon & Schuster will distribute Pike and Powder Publishing Group, […]
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 […]