Open Road will go ahead with their planned republication of backlist works by William Styron in ebook form starting May 4. Initially the ebooks will only be available on Kindle, the NYT reports, though the company intends to have distribution through other online retailers as well. (The company declined to indicate for now whether they are selling on an agency or wholesale basis.) While Random House is not contesting this agreement, spokesman Stuart Applebaum says the house’s position on electronic rights to older works remains as stated by ceo Markus Dohle last year (“Random House considers contracts that grant the […]
Ambrose's Biggest Lie? His Connection to Eisenhower Exposed
Before dying of lung cancer in fall 2002, historian Stephen Ambrose’s reputation was tarnished as Forbes and other publications found evidence of plagiarism in Ambrose’s works–first in his book THE WILD BLUE, but then in at least six other books and even his doctoral thesis. Now much of Ambrose’s work about Dwight D. Eisenhower appears to be fabricated or at least mispresented, as the Eisenhower Presidential Library has found evidence that the two men likely never spent more than a few hours together. As the New Yorker notes, “Ambrose had made his name chronicling the life of Eisenhower. More than […]
Awards: LAT Prizes and IACP Cookbook Awards
At the LAT Festival of Books, the paper awarded its annual book prizes: BiographyLinda Gordon, Dorothea Lange: A Life Beyond Limits (Norton) Current InterestDave Eggers, Zeitoun (McSweeney’s Books) FictionRafael Yglesias, A Happy Marriage (Scribner) Art Seidenbaum Award for First FictionPhilipp Meyer, American Rust (Spiegel & Grau) Graphic NovelDavid Mazzucchelli, Asterios Polyp (Pantheon) HistoryKevin Starr, Golden Dreams: California in an Age of Abundance 1950 – 1963 (Oxford University Press) Mystery / ThrillerStuart Neville, The Ghosts of Belfast (Soho Press) PoetryBrenda Hillman, Practical Water (Wesleyan University Press) Science & TechnologyGraham Farmelo, The Strangest Man: The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Mystic of […]
More People News and Announcements
Brad Parsons will join the Hachette Book Group on May 24 as associate director of their online marketing team, focusing on fiction. He will report to executive director of online marketing Kelly Leonard. Currently senior editor for books at Amazon, Parsons has been with the etailer since 1999. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt announced two electronic agreements today. They have partnered with NetGalley to deliver galleys, promotional materials, and other digital content, and they have also joined Edelweiss’s interactive digital catalog system.
Crown Announces George Bush's DECISION POINTS for November 9
Crown has announced the release this fall of former president George W. Bush’s book, written with the help of former speechwriter Chris Michel, listing for $35. In a statement, Crown promises that Bush “writes honestly and directly about his flaws and mistakes, as well as his historic achievements in reforming education, providing life-saving treatments for HIV/AIDS and malaria for millions of people in Africa, safeguarding the country from another terrorist attack, and other areas.” He also “offers intimate, unprecedented details about his decision to quit drinking, his discovery of faith, and his relationships with his family.” They say “he has […]
Hachette's Nashville Lines Will Move Some Functions to New York
Hachette Book Group announced change to their Nashville-based FaithWords and Center Street lines that will see a portion of the division, along with some its functions, relocated to New York–“where they will have more opportunity to interface directly with the literary agents and media located there.” They will create a new Center Street office in New York, comprising an editor, a publicist and an assistant. Marketing, advertising and promotion responsibilities for both lines will be taken over by New York-based personnel, where they will hire a dedicated online promotions person and marketing manager. Among existing staff, publicity director Jana Burson […]