Simon & Schuster Publishing Group president and publisher Jonathan Karp has been promoted to the new position of president and publisher of Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing, reporting to ceo Carolyn Reidy. Karp will have responsibility for all the company’s adult trade publishing, which includes Atria Books, Gallery Books, Scribner, Simon & Schuster, Touchstone and their associated sub-imprints, and he will continue as publisher of the Simon & Schuster trade imprint. (Adams Media continues to report to evp, chief marketing officer Liz Perl, however.) Reidy says in the announcement: “Jon is well suited and more than ready to take on this greater […]
People, Etc.
Jill Schwartzman, vp and executive editor at Dutton, will take on the additional role of editorial director of Plume. Whitney Hu has joined National Book Foundation as director of public programs. She was formerly communications director at the office of New York City Council member Brad Lander. Three former employees of Midas Public Relations — Daniel Freeman and Zekra Rahman (who were associate directors) and Liz Mallett (who was a senior account manager) have formed Colour PR, focusing on publishing related work, as well as entertainment and leisure. Last week, Midas announced that Jason Bartholomew was leaving his position as […]
Three Named Women Accuse Alexie Of Inappropriate Conduct
Three women spoke to NPR on the record to accuse Sherman Alexie of inappropriate conduct, after he addressed anonymous allegations in a statement last week. NPR received reports about Alexie from a total of 10 women, but seven have chosen to remain anonymous. They say: “A clear pattern emerged: The women reported behavior ranging from inappropriate comments both in private and in public, to flirting that veered suddenly into sexual territory, unwanted sexual advances and consensual sexual relations that ended abruptly. The women said Alexie had traded on his literary celebrity to lure them into uncomfortable sexual situations.” Erika Wurth, a 22-year-old Native American […]
Bookselling: Barnes & Noble Tries A Book Club, Amazon Books for Colorado
Barnes & Noble is trying again with a program to put some selection and promotional muscle around a particular title (remember Barnes & Noble Recommends?). The new initiative adopts the moniker of the moment, the Barnes & Noble Book Club, and the first selection is Meg Wolitzer‘s highly-touted THE FEMALE PERSUASION, publishing April 3. BN’s exclusive edition will include an essay by the author and a reading group guide. The first of their “seasonal” in-store book club nights is scheduled for May 2, at 6 PM local time at stores nationwide. Attendees will receive “one free regular, tall, hot or iced […]
NYT to Launch Monthly Audiobook Bestseller Lists Later This Week
The New York Times will publish audiobook bestseller lists for the first time, on a monthly basis only, debuting online on Thursday, March 8 (and appearing in the March 18 issue of the Sunday Book Review). All of their bestseller lists will go live on the NYT website on Thursday mornings, instead of on Friday. Additionally, the paper expanding the paperback bestseller lists from 10 positions to 15, “in response to reader interest.” The monthly audiobooks lists will note the top 15 fiction and top 15 nonfiction audio titles from the previous month. TBR editor Pamela Paul says in the […]
Harper Acquires AMACOM
Harper Collins announced it has acquired the trade book assets of AMACOM from the American Management Association International. That means they bought the list, without the accompanying infrastructure. Their 600-title catalog will be run as a sub-imprint of the recently launched Harper Collins Leadership line, based in Nashville. HCL publisher Jeff James will oversee AMACOM business development, marketing and editorial. Spokesperson Casey Harrell confirmed to us that “personnel who work on the AMACOM imprint are not employees of HarperCollins. We are identifying jobs to support HarperCollins Leadership and are working through a transitional plan.” Harper ceo Brian Murray said in the […]