Gary Young has won the Shelley Memorial Award, given annually by the Poetry Society of America to a living American poet “selected with reference to genius and need.” The 2009 Iowa Short Fiction Award was given to Kathryn Ma for her collection, “All That Work and Still No Boys,” which will be published this fall by the University of Iowa Press. IndieBound has been named by ReBrand as one of its 100 Global Winning Brands.
Books-A-Million CEO Quits
Sandra Cochran notified Books-A-Million that she has resigned from her positions as president and ceo effective March 11 “in order to accept an executive position with another company.” (In April she will become cfo of Cracker Barrel.)The statement says “Cochran’s resignation was voluntary and did not result from any disagreement with the company or its board.” Executive chairman of the board Clyde Anderson has taken over as ceo.
Simonoff Moves to WMA, and More People News
Agent Eric Simonoff is leaving Janklow & Nesbit after 18 years to join William Morris. He will take all of his clients with him. Professor of philosophy at Princeton and novelist Kwame Anthony Appiah is expected to take over from Francine Prose as president of the PEN American center. Nick Trautwein will join The Penguin Press as editor on April 6, moving over from Bloomsbury. Jeanne Glasser has joined FT Press and Wharton School Publishing as executive editor. Most recently, she was editorial director, finance, for McGraw-Hill’s Professional Division. Lindsay Mergens has joined Nelson Literary Agency as marketing director, based […]
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Sale Scratched; Debt Renegotiation Finalized
As the Wall Street Journal first reported yesterday, Education Media and Publishing ceo Barry O’Callaghan says “we concluded that the offers we’ve received were less than what the business was worth in terms of long-term value and long-term profitability” so they are calling off a sale of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. O’Callaghan says there were three bidders for the trade publisher, with estimated annual sales of $150 million to $200 million.WSJ Separately, Houghton Mifflin ceo Tony Lucki tells the Boston Globe the unit comprises about 5 percent of Houghton’s profits, and less than 10 percent of sales. He insists “the offers). […]
Critics Love Bolano's 2666; Takes NBCC
This win was an easy prediction as critics lined up to love Roberto Bolano’s 2666 even before it was published, as was Dexter Filkins’ widely-loved THE FOREVER WAR (for general nonfiction). Other winners: AutobiographyAriel Sabar, My Father’s Paradise BiographyPatrick French, The World Is What It Is: The Authorized Biography of V.S. Naipaul Criticism Seth Lerer, Children’s Literature: A Reader’s History from Aesop to Harry Potter PoetryAugust Kleinzahler, Sleeping It Off in Rapid City and Juan Felipe Herrera, Half the World in Light: New and Selected Poems(the first time in 35 years that two books have shared a prize)AP
Borders to Ask for Reverse Stock Split
At their annual meeting on May 21, Borders will seek shareholder approval for a reverse stock split to help bring the company into compliance with New York Stock Exchange listing rules. The split still might not happen, though, since the company also needs a higher market capitalization to meet the Exchange’s rules.Release