Publishers Lunch

Publisher Preiss Dies In Auto Accident Publisher, packager, digital publishing pioneer and longtime force in the rise of graphic novels Byron Preiss died tragically in an auto accident in East Hampton on Saturday. Just 52, making his weekly trip to Shabbat services, Preiss’s car was hit by a bus. The funeral service will be held tomorrow morning. In a posted notice, the family requests that any donations be made to the UJA of New York, where Preiss was co-chair of the Publishing Committee. Separately, comics veteran Jim Steranko writes movingly about his 35-year friendship and collaboration with Preiss: “Popular culture […]

Please Note Tomorrow is a travel day for me, so there will be no regular Lunch. We’ll resume with the weekly deal round-up on Sunday night and a full Lunch on Monday. On Hunter Evan Hunter, 78, best-known for his books written as Ed McBain, died yesterday at home, from cancer of the larynx. The NYT says he “virtually invented the American police procedural with his gritty 87th Precinct series featuring an entire detective squad as its hero.” Agent Jane Gelfman estimates he sold over 100 million books over 50 years of writing and publishing. Otto Penzler will published FIDDLERS, […]

High-Profile Hires All Over At Miramax Books, recently arrived president Rob Weisbach has hired Judy Hottensen as vp and publisher, starting July 13. Hottensen is currently director of marketing and publicity at Grove/Atlantic. She is charged with “overseeing all marketing and sales plans for all upcoming Miramax titles currently under contract and will work closely with [Weisbach] as we acquire and publish new titles for the book division of Bob and Harvey Weinstein’s new company. Houghton Mifflin will fill the slot as publisher of their children’s book group with Alan Smagler, who begins next week in the company’s Boston office. […]

Wise Out at John Murray; Saddler Goes Independent Again The John Murray imprint is doing so well that publishing director Gordon Wise has been fired, even as the editorial department is expanded. (Managing director Roland Philipps says the changes come “in the light of rapid growth John Murray has achieved since its acquisiton by Hodder Headline in 2002.”) Both a nonfiction publisher and a fiction editor will be recruited, PN reports. Separately, agent John Saddler is leaving Curtis Brown UK to set up his own agency again. Saddler had run an eponymous agency up until joining Curtis Brown in November […]

USA Today Is First with SECRET MAN’s Secrets Though the Washington Post doesn’t acknowledge it in their own article today, the newspaper continues to get beat on the Deep Throat story. USA Today found a copy already on sale and published a story online yesterday afternoon. The closest thing to a revelation in the book is an anecdote about how W. Mark Felt nearly disclosed his secret identity before a grand jury in 1976. Though the investigation was unrelated to Watergate, a juror asked Felt if he was Deep Throat. “According to Woodward, Felt answered ‘no.’ [Justice department prosecutor Stanley] […]

Summer Promotions In Advance of Christmas Film The new film version of THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE doesn’t release until early December, but USA Today reports that retailers are already putting together lavish displays featuring at least some of the 145 different Narnia SKU’s offered by Harper. Target started stocking up in May; Borders is promoting in the front of the store and as part of summer reading displays; and BN will launch table displays later this week. BN children’s buyer Joe Monti says that after the showing of a Narnia trailer in May, “sales have been doubling […]