Poll On Reading Habits Confirms, Provokes An AP-Ipsos poll about reading habits has spawned an assortment of news stories. In one angle, among those who read books last year, seven was the average number of books read. But 25 percent of adults surveyed said they didn’t read any books last year. (It’s not clear if the poll was limited to literate adults or not — an important factor since we only have a 70 to 75 percent literacy rate to begin with.) The Guardian notes, “of those who did read, women and retirees were the most avid readers, and religious […]

Howard Shifts Carolyn Reidy announced internally a realignment of Simon & Schuster’s Howard Books unit, acquired in early 2006. Howard now becomes an imprint within Touchstone Fireside, still operating from their offices in Louisiana, and evp and publisher John Howard reports to Touchstone Fireside publisher Mark Gompertz. Touchstone’s own Faith line debuts this fall as well, and Reidy notes in her letter that “we are seeing a wide growth in Christian publishing and market share across the adult division.” She says one of “top priorities will be to grow the presence of Howard’s core Christian publishing program in the mainstream […]

Harris Denies Political Novel Is Based on Blair Robert Harris denies that his political novel THE GHOST (“written at speed in four 25,000 word installments, like a 19th century novel, it has already been translated into German, French, Dutch and Italian for simultaneous publication”) is based on former British prime minister Tony Blair. Harris “conceded that people were bound to make comparisons between Mr Blair and Mr Lang, with his ambitious wife and weakness for make-up.” He says, “I had the idea about a ghost writer and a politician when I finished Enigma 12 years ago. But I couldn’t make […]

Deal Reports Just e-mail to deals@PublishersMarketplace if you aren’t using the online form linked below. Report a deal using the online form The Key As usual, the handy key to our Lunch deal categories. While all reports are always welcome, those that include a category will generally receive a higher listing when it comes time to put them all together. “nice deal” $1 – $49,000 “very nice deal” $50,000 – $99,000 “good deal” $100,000 – $250,000 “significant deal” $251,000 – $499,000 “major deal” $500,000 and up   FICTION Debut University of Pittsburgh creative writing instructor Irina Reyn’s WHAT HAPPENED TO […]

Barnett to Shop Blair Book Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has chosen Washington-based attorney Bob Barnett to represent rights to his book. A Blair source told the AP “that the book, probably a memoir, hasn’t been started and is at least a few years from publication. There have been no negotiations or serious discussions with publishers, the representative said.” And a friend of Blair’s confirms for the Guardian the book is “years off publication.” It’s anticipated that discussions with publishers will begin soon. Considered a figure of popular interest in the US as well as the UK, a world […]

Len’s Buying Again With Barnes & Noble stock down to its lowest levels since 2004, chairman Len Riggio has resumed buying, purchasing 100,000 shares. Riggio’s last buying streak ended about two years, when the stock was trading about five dollars a share higher. He currently holds just under 13 million shares, or about 20 percent of the company. Riggio’s buying is closely watched by Wall Street, and shares rose after hours yesterday when his purchase was revealed. Reuters Personnel News Carl Raymond has been named associate publisher for Simon Spotlight Entertainment, starting September 5. He will acquire “select titles” and […]