Next up from the Bush administration: outgoing Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice told the AP she will meet with publishers soon about three projects. One is a memoir of her work during the Bush years; the other two are reportedly “a memoir about Rice’s family and a multimedia project about international affairs for preteens and adolescents.” Rice is represented by William Morris, and is scheduled to meet with publishers on January 28 and 29.AP
Oprah "Disappointed" By Rosenblat
Oprah Winfrey finally commented on the Herman Rosenblat Holocaust fraud romance on Friday, saying she is “very disappointed.” She told her audience, “That’s what happens with lies. They get bigger and bigger and bigger.” Winfrey said that Rosenblat was going to appear on her show again to “explain himself,” but said that his lawyers stopped the booking. Oprah’s friend Gayle King is disappointed that the media is blaming Oprah: “I called Oprah and I said, ‘I’m so tired of you being the whipping boy for this hoax because he didn’t just dupe you – he duped a lot of people.'” […]
More Withdrawals from Book Expo Canada
HarperCollins Canada and Penguin Canada have joined Random House Canada in announcing that they will not exhibit at this year’s Book Expo Canada trade show. Simon & Schuster Canada is the only one of the country’s four largest publishers that has said it will participate, though president Kevin Hanson indicates their involvement will be modest. The Globe and Mail writes: “Are booksellers in Vancouver or Edmonton or Halifax going to commit to coming to Toronto knowing that three former anchor tenants won’t be there? And will other small or medium-sized publishers bow out now that the lure of the big guys […]
Cornwell Plugs Forthcoming Book in Scarpetta
The NYT notes that Patricia Cornwell’s latest bestseller SCARPETTA briefly mentions Philipp Meyer’s forthcoming AMERICAN RUST on page 333. Cornwell tells the paper, “I look through his book even now because I admire his writing so much. The same way, frankly, that I do Hemingway.” They share the same agent, Esther Newberg at ICM, who sent the manuscript to Cornwell.NYT
People and More
Donna Shear will become director of the University of Nebraska Press on March 1. She has been director at the Northwestern University Press since 2003. At Riverhead, Laura Perciasepe has been promoted to associate editor. Abby Ranger, previously associate editor at Scholastic Press, has joined Disney-Hyperion Books as editor, reporting to editorial director Stephanie Owens Lurie. Willow Glen Books in San Jose will close at the end of June, owner Cathy Adkins announced. “The downturn of the economy and the steady growth of online book sales has prompted her to shutter the store” ahead of her planned retirement in 2010.Mercury […]
Peter Bowron Dies
Random UK ceo Gail Rebuck announced the sudden death on Saturday of the company’s group managing director Peter Bowron. She said: “Peter’s family, colleagues and many, many friends both in and out of the booktrade have lost an extraordinary person. It is devastating to lose someone you value for their intelligence, warmth, support and friendship. It is doubly so, to lose someone so suddenly and so young.” Bowron joined Random House in 2005.BookTrade