This week’s fiction releases include new books by Colm Toibin, Jasper Fforde, and Renée Watson. Jen Psaki, Tom Selleck, Johann Hari, and Brittney Griner publish nonfiction works this week, while May’s YA releases include new novels by Samira Ahmed, Morgan Matson, and Anna-Marie McLemore. Also out this week are new books by Eve J. Chung, Mary Annaïse Heglar, and Emiko Jean, all excerpted in our Buzz Books 2024: Spring/Summer anthology. 44 works of fiction https://bookshop.org/lists/new-fiction-publishing-may-7 22 works of nonfiction https://bookshop.org/lists/new-nonfiction-publishing-may-7 24 children’s/YA titles https://bookshop.org/lists/may-2024-children-s-new-releases From Buzz Books https://buzz.publishersmarketplace.com/ We consult […]
Phillips, Thrall, and More Win Pulitzers
The winners of the 2024 Pulitzer Prizes were announced on Monday afternoon. The fiction winner, Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips, should be well positioned for a sale bump on the recognition, having previously sold just under 4,000 hardcovers. The complete list of winners and finalists: Fiction Winner Night Watch, by Jayne Anne Phillips Finalists Wednesday’s Child, by Yiyun Li Same Bed Different Dreams, by Ed Park Nonfiction Winner A Day in the Life of Abed Salama, by Nathan Thrall Finalists Fire Weather, by John Vaillant Cobalt Red, by Siddharth Kara Poetry Winner Tripas, by Brandon Som Finalists To 2040, […]
People 5/6
PRH SVP, children’s sales and strategic market development Amanda Close will leave the company at the end of June.
Obituary: Al Araneo
EVP and director of Business Affairs at Writers House Al Araneo, 53, died suddenly and unexpectedly on Saturday from natural causes. “A treasured and invaluable colleague, Al’s absolute professionalism, deep kindness, and generous and insightful counsel helped make Writers House a joy to work at,” said agency president Simon Lipskar. “He was a dear friend to everyone who worked with him, and we are all grief-struck by this terrible loss.” Araneo started the contracts department at Writers House in 2006 after working for 13 years at Penguin, Doubleday, and Bookspan, and oversaw the department’s growth. In 2020, he became director […]
KDP Virtual Voice Beta Has Produced Over 40,000 Audible Titles
A recent report from Bloomberg noted that Amazon’s beta program allowing invited KDP authors to produce audiobooks using synthetic machine narration has resulted in over 40,000 “virtual voice” audiobooks available through Audible so far. All of the titles are clearly labelled and introduced as having been created by “computer-generated narration for audiobooks.” At least some customers have asked Audible to provide a search filter that would omit the virtual voice titles. An Audible spokesperson writes to Bloomberg, “During the beta we are learning more about what our customers want as we continue to innovate on their behalf.” That person reports that […]
S&S to Acquire Holland’s VBK, Furthering International Growth Strategy
Simon & Schuster has agreed to acquire VBK (Veen Bosch & Keuning), the largest publisher in the Netherlands, in an all-cash transaction. The deal is subject to regulatory approval in the Netherlands. This will be the first time S&S has owned a non-English language publisher, fulfilling its “long-cherished international ambitions.” In a memo to staff, S&S CEO Jonathan Karp wrote, “In the months since we became a standalone, independent publishing company, I have repeatedly stated that international publishing will be one of the key areas of growth for Simon & Schuster…. In joining with VBK, we believe that together we […]