In one of the more unusual attempts to spice up the traditional preview of fall books, AP quotes Michael Moore as saying this is not the time to be reading – not even Moore’s upcoming book Mike’s Election Guide 2008. “There really is no time for any frivolity. People are already working two jobs to put gas in the tank, so they can drive from the first job to the second job. People need to spend as much of their free time as possible for candidates…I would rather you go and work for a local candidate than read my book.” […]
Book Review Woes Extend to Canada
Readers of the Saturday edition of the Globe and Mail were surprised to discover the books pages were missing. The day before, the paper had run a note explaining that section was “on hiatus” for two weeks because its editors, Martin Levin and H.J. Kirchoff, are in need of a vacation. But coming on the heels of the Toronto Star cutting its books pages in half (from four pages to two) and the recent cuts to seven arts-granting programs by the Conservative government, some are beginning to wonder if the Globe’s move isn’t a trial run for more permanent cuts […]
Meyer Hit May End Staggered Release Dates in India
The simultaneous release of Stephenie Meyer’s BREAKING DAWN in a number of countries not only bumped up worldwide sales, but might bring release dates in India in line with global standards.The book was published there as a large-format trade paperback on August 14 – a full twelve days after its US release date – and has sold 23,000 copies to date. “We wanted this book early, but it did not happen, because India is not a fully mature market,” said Thomas Abraham, managing director of Hachette in India. A staggered release “ensures that publishers can split the market between formats […]
ZYZZYVA'S Improbable Success Story
A page one story in yesterday’s LA Times featured San Francisco literary magazine ZYZZYVA and its founder Howard Junker, who will retire as editor of the magazine at the end of 2009. Junker began the magazine in 1985 as “a redemptive gesture, something that I thought I could do and that I could admire. It was like a midlife crisis.” And even Junker is amazed at how the magazine has stayed afloat when the print run (2,500 copies) remained the same: “People give money to pay me. “They are kind enough and courageous enough and silly enough to say, ‘We […]
Fox's "Watchmen" Lawsuit Carries On
A judge has denied a Warner Bros. motion to dismiss 20th Century Fox’s lawsuit over Warners’ right to make a film based on the graphic novel “Watchmen” by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. The ruling keeps alive the possibility Fox may share in the profits for the film, slated for release in March 2009, though the studio really wants the project to be cancelled outright. “When you have copyright infringement, there are some damages you never recover,” a source close to the litigation told Variety. At the heart of Fox’s suit, filed in February, is the contention that it never […]
Announcements
Anna Crowe has joined Houghton Mifflin Harcourt as a Senior Publicist. She was previously with Bantam Dell.