David Patterson has left Holt, where he was an editor, and starts today at Foundry Literary + Media as an agent. Irish bookselling chain Hughes & Hughes declared bankruptcy. Ulster Bank appointed David Carson of Deloitte as receiver. The company blamed a variety of factors, from reduced air traffic which suppressed business at its successful airport bookstores to higher rents and the internet.Irish Times Gordon Wood won the American History Book Prize for Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815, which includes the title of American Historian Laureate. Mexican author and guerrilla movement scholar Carlos Montemayor, 62, […]
Personnel
People
Simon & Schuster Audio vp audio production Sandy Moore is retiring March 1 after 25 years with the division, since it’s founding in 1984. Christopher Lynch writes, “her vision for how an audiobook should sound literally shaped an industry, and her ability to adapt to the changing times has kept S&S as the standard bearer for quality audio production as we move quickly into the digital age.” Another veteran, Elisa Shokoff, will take over Moore’s position. At Shreve Williams Public Relations, Kathleen Schmidt will join the company March 15 as director of publicity and digital media, part of “a strategic […]
Random Names New Digital Execs; Realigns A Few Imprints
Random House CEO Markus Dohle announced internally today “our next steps forward in accelerating the company’s transition to digital, growing our physical book sales, and increasing the efficiency of our customer- author- and publisher-support services.” He also noted some other realignments: The Princeton Review, Sylvan Learning, and Prima Games imprints are becoming part of Random House Children’s Books division, with their leaders reporting to Chip Gibson. Ten Speed’s children’s line Tricycle Books will now operate as an imprint of Knopf Children’s. The digital announcements, which create three separate teams and a “new leadership structure” for Random House Sales, Operations and […]
People and More
Director of Janklow & Nesbit UK Tif Loehnis is leaving the agency after 10 years. She tells the Bookseller: “I have a large and noisy family who need to see more of me than they have done in the last few years and my authors need an agent who can be more available to them.” Editions Robert Laffont in France has named Anne-Louise Associates as their London Scout as of March 1. They will continue to work with Univers Poche as well. In the tidbit department, we picked up these interesting factoids on Twitter from Arsen Kashkashian at the Boulder […]
People, Awards and More
Anna Crowe has joined Planned Television Arts as a senior publicist. She was previously at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Random House. Linda Clark Associates has been appointed the book scout for Quercus Books. The LA Times announced nominees for its annual book prizes yesterday in 10 categories, now including an award for graphic novels for the first time. Their first Innovators Award will go to Dave Eggers for “his multifaceted, spirited commitment to literature” and their Lifetime Achievement award is going to Evan S. Connell.Full list of nominees Poets & Writers’ indie bookselling column has a long interview with Michael […]
People and Companies
Agent Mary Ann Naples, co-owner of The Creative Culture, has joined startup OpenSky (www.theopenskyproject.com) as vp of development, representing the voices of authors and brands at the company. Former Scholastic UK managing director (and then briefly chief executive of the Headline publishing group) Kate Wilson is starting a children’s book publisher, Nosy Crow, launching in January 2011. The company is focusing on both traditional printed books as well as books as electronic apps. Ralph Munsen joins Hachette Book Group today as svp, chief information officer. He was most recently vp, technology at Clear Channel..He will lead HBG’s technology group, and […]