At January’s Digital Book World 2011 conference, a new series of Publishing Innovation Awards will be presented at the opening ceremony on the 24th to “recognize the best ebooks and book apps based on their merits in the areas of origination, development, production, design, and marketing.” Awards will be given in five categories: fiction, nonfiction, reference, children’s, and comics. The judging will come from a panel of independent developers, ebook producers, and publishers. For this year’s prizes, the judges will survey the field and select honorees, though in the future DBW plans to create an open submission process for publishers […]
Curtis Brown UK Launches Paid Writing Classes for Fiction Writers
The latest news item driving online commentary is the launch of a three-month novel-writing course by Curtis Brown UK, “the first and only new writing school to be run by a literary agency.” They charge 1,600 pounds, and promise to “consider” students’ for representation: “We don’t guarantee that we’ll offer representation but we do guarantee that every student’s work will be read by a Curtis Brown book agent and every student will receive a detailed critique on their work at the end of the course.” They also require that students give the agency an exclusive opportunity to consider their completed […]
People, Etc.
Former general manager, digital publishing at Adobe Bill McCoy will join the IDPF as executive director on January 9. Additionally, “in conjunction with Bill’s joining and anticipated future growth, the IDPF is establishing its office location in the Seattle, WA area.” Matthew Inman joins Hyperion as editor, having most recently been an associate editor at Harper. He will acquire a nonfiction list that includes business, politics, narrative, investigative journalism, and popular culture. Former publisher and consultant John Kilcullen and literary agent Wendy Strothman are both joining Copyright Clearance Center’s board of directors. Nikko Odiseos will take over from Peter Turner […]
People, Etc.: S&S Finds their Fiction Editor In-House, Taking Touchstone’s Todd
Touchstone editor-in-chief Trish Todd will leave that division after 15 years to move over to the Simon & Schuster adult trade imprint at the beginning of February. She will be executive editor, reporting to publisher Jon Karp. He writes, “to my surprise, I discovered the perfect choice right down the hallway” in his search for “a highly respected and experienced editor to acquire works of popular fiction, practical nonfiction and autobiography.” Karp adds, “In making the move to S&S, Trish recently expressed to me her desire to shift her focus away from management and return exclusively to her greatest joy, […]
Bookselling: Bids for Politics and Prose; Trouble in Minnesota
Politics and Prose co-owner Barbara Meade says the evaluation of bidders to buy the store is focused on six suitors, and the Washington Post says there is a January deadline for bids. A local consortium that includes agent Rafe Sagalyn, along with departy editor of the New Republic Franklin Foer, XM Satellite radio founder Hugh Panero, and Atlantic correspondent Jeffrey Goldberg remains one of the contenders.Washington Post Separately, the Minneapolis Star Tribune looks at the wave of Minnesota stores that have closed recently–the latest are Biermaier’s Books in Minneapolis, “for 60 years among the largest used bookstores in Minnesota,” and […]
Time Magazine and The Boston Globe’s Top Books
Here are Time’s top 10 book lists for the year: Fiction 1. Freedom by Jonathan Franzen 2. A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan 3. Skippy Dies by Paul Murray 4. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell 5. Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon 6. Wilson by Daniel Clowes 7. Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes 8. How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu 9. The Passage by Justin Cronin 10. Faithful Place by Tana French Nonfiction 1. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand 2. The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee […]