Molly Barton will move up to global digital director at Penguin as of December 1. She takes over from Dan Ruffino, who is returning home to Australia. At HarperCollins, Beth Silfin has been promoted to the newly created position of vp, deputy general counsel, responsible for overseeing the contracts department in working directly with literary agents on contracts and rights negotiations. As a result of the change in how the legal and contracts department is organized, vp, associate general counsel Tom Ward will leave the company after more than 15 years. In addition, Cindy DiTiberio has been promoted to senior […]
Authors Guild Says Kindle Lending Library Is “Outside the Bounds of the Publisher’s Authority”
In a strongly worded memo issued Monday afternoon, the Authors Guild took issue with Amazon’s Kindle Lending Library for Prime customers, in particular those titles available without express permission from publishers and authors. “How can Amazon get away with this? By giving its boilerplate contract with these publishers a tortured reading,” the Guild said, adding that permission appeared to be dispensed with “because, as Amazon apparently sees it, its contracts with these publishers merely require it to pay publishers the wholesale price of the books that Amazon Prime customers download.” The reasoning is “nonsense”, from the AG’s understanding of Amazon’s […]
Bookselling: Outwrite Bookstore Needs New Location; Parnassus Books Will Open November 19; and More
Outwrite Bookstore and Coffeehouse in Atlanta said the store may have to close after more than 18 years in business unless it can find a new location within the next few months. “Our lease is expiring in a few months and there really is no way that any model we have looked at will allow us to continue in this space,” owner Philip Rafshoon told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “For 15 years we have been a part of helping the neighborhood grow around us and hopefully we will find a location where we can do the same for another community or […]
People, Etc.
Thomas LeBien will join Simon & Schuster as vp, senior editor, specializing in history and non-fiction. He was most recently at FSG, where he was publisher of the Hill & Wang and Scientific American imprints. LeBien starts at S&S on December 21 Rachel Vogel will join Mary Evans Inc. as foreign rights director and literary agent, effective November 28th, where she’ll continue to build her list of literary and upmarket fiction, narrative nonfiction and memoir. She has previously held positions at Movable Type, Lippincott Massie McQuilkin, and Maria Campbell Associates. Parhul Segal has joined NPR as digital associate editor for […]
Kobo Offers Ad-Supported Reader; Fire Ships Early, to Tepid Reviews; LAT eBooks
Within the next two to three weeks, Kobo will match Amazon’s ad-bearing ereaders with their own “Kobo Touch with Offers” with “valuable offers and sponsored screens in discreet places outside of the reading experience.” The ad-driven model will sell for just under $100, a $40 discount over the ad-free model. Amazon has begun shipping the Kindle Fire a day early, and will start shipping their new eInk readers tomorrow, six days ahead of the promised date. Early reviews of the Fire are surprised to find that this inexpensive semi-tablet acts like what you would expect for the price. In the […]
People, Etc.
At Random House Struik in South Africa, founding managing director Stephen Johnson will step down in March 2012, the end of the unit’s fiscal year, as he reaches retirement age. Johnson will become chairman of the company’s board in April. Current managing director of London’s New Holland Publishers (and a former Struik md) Steve Connolly will return to South Africa to run Random House Struik as of April. Nicola Way will join Harper Children’s UK as marketing director in January. She was most recently a board director at Iris Nation, a UK integrated marketing agency. Sumya Ojakli has been named senior […]