The situation at Harcourt Houghton Mifflin continues to worsen, as the AP reports that svp and publisher of adult trade Becky Saletan has resigned her position as of December 10. There was no further comment beyond confirmation from the company. Saletan (along with others at HMH) has been required to stay silent as the company has stumbled its way through explaining their partial “freeze” on acquisitions of books for adults.AP
Personnel
People: Jackson Moves Agencies; Elek to AP Watt
Eleanor Jackson has left the Queen Literary Agency, and is now working at the Elaine Markson Agency. Jon Elek is moving to AP Watt as an agent in January. For the past two and a half years Jon has been an assistant editor at Viking, working with Tony Lacey, in addition to developing his own projects.
Award for Tinti; Honors for Galassi
Hannah Tinti won the 2008 John Sargent, Sr. First Novel Prize for THE GOOD THIEF The Good Thief, presented last night at the Mercantile Library Center for Fiction’s benefit dinner. But the focus of this Bloomberg piece is on Farrar, Straus publisher Jonathan Galassi, honored with the Maxwell E. Perkins Award for Distinguished Achievement in the Field of Fiction. The Mercantile says, “Galassi was chosen in recognition of his career as both an editor and a publisher who has supported and shaped the work of a dazzling array of writers, carrying on the tradition exemplified so well by Maxwell Perkins.” […]
Buckely's Forthcoming Family Memoir
Christopher Buckley discusses his forthcoming book LOSING MOM AND POP, due for release in May. Discussing it in VF’s January issue, Buckley says: “I honestly had no intention of writing about them [his parents]. But I’m a writer, and when the universe hands you material like this, it would seem an act of conscious omission not to do something about it. It spilled out of me. I wrote it in 40 days – no biblical associations intended.” He notes, “This book is going to land hard in some quarters . . . It’s a book about two very complex people. […]
People and More
Julia Churchill is joining the Greenhouse Literary Agency. She was an agent with the Darley Anderson Agency, specializing in children’s fiction. At Random House Audio, Rebecca Waugh has been promoted to senior acquisitions editor for Listening Library. In the UK, Jamie Magazine–featuring Jamie Oliver–launches this week, exclusive to WH Smith stores for the first three issues. Unusually, the Guardian says the magazine is funded directed by Oliver, at a cost of 250,000 pounds. Augsburg Fortress, the publishing arm of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America based in Minneapolis, announced last month it would end its consumer book publishing line to […]
People
Books-a-Million chief financial officer Douglas Markham, who is a Commander with the United States Navy Reserve, has been recalled to active duty. Controller Brian White will serve as interim cfo during the seven months that Markham is on active duty. In the UK, John Parker is leaving MBA Literary Agents after 30 years to form his own agency along with John Berlyne. Langenscheidt has named Nel Yomtov as executive editor of Hammond, overseing editorial direction of the line, and reporting to Langenscheidt’s chief sales and marketing officer Michele Martin. He will also lead the product and concept development of new […]