Half of these books won’t even be finalists for the Booker Prize. We’ll find out September 9 which ones when the “shortist” is announced: The White Tiger, by Aravind AdigaGirl in a Blue Dress, by Gaynor ArnoldThe Secret Scripture, by Sebastian BarryFrom A to X, by John BergerThe Lost Dog, by Michelle de KretserSea of Poppies, by Amitav GhoshThe Clothes on Their Backs, by Linda GrantA Case of Exploding Mangoes, by Mohammed HanifThe Northern Clemency, by Philip HensherNetherland, by Joseph O’Neill The Enchantress of Florence, by Salman RushdieChild 44, by Tom Rob SmithA Fraction of the Whole, by Steve Toltz
Another Change at the Top at HarperCollins
HarperCollins chief operating officer Glenn D’Agnes has “decided to leave the company to pursue other opportunities” after 10 years in that post and 18 years with the company overall. As CEO Brian Murray notes to employees: “During his time here, Glenn has played a critical role in the acquisition and successful integration of several companies into HarperCollins. He has been an integral part of securing and managing our distribution clients, which have become an important part of our business. He has overseen major technology and systems changes, including our ERP project. And, he has helped the company to achieve its […]
Mad About Draper
This is Grove’s month for poetry: first their author Kay Ryan is named the new poet laureate, and now something really big: lead character on the celebrated show Mad Men Don Draper buys and reads Frank O’Hara’s poetry collection Meditations in an Emergency. He mails the book with a note to an unknown person and reads aloud a passage from the poem “Mayakovsky” during a montage sequence. All good enough to pop the book to No. 159 at Amazon–where it is now out of stock–and produce a number of print mentions. (In the first season, Draper was also seen reading […]
Salem Celebrates Lace Reader
With William Morrow’s edition of Brunonia Barry’s THE LACE READER publishing today, the folks in Salem, MA are enjoying the attention. “Morrow is working with Salem’s tourism agency, local merchants, and historic sites to promote the book, which is set here, and the city at the same time. While Salem hopes The Lace Reader will draw tourists to town, author and publisher hope the city’s attractions will bolster the book.” Director of the tourism bureau Kate Fox says, “It has been the greatest thing to fall into Salem’s lap, for promotion and marketing.” The author suggested the marketing partnership. And […]
Foxy Brown Breaks Silence on Lawsuit
An attorney for Foxy Brown has offered a grab-bag of replies to the suit brought by Simon & Schuster seeking to recover their advance of $75,000. Attorney Laura Dilimetin tells AllHipHop.com that Brown’s “health became a priority” after facing some hearing loss in 2005. “With Simon and Schuster’s blessings, Foxy Brown underwent extensive surgical procedures and a lengthy recovery time, fighting to restore her hearing,” Dilimetin wrote. After her recovert, Dilimetin insists, “Simon and Schuster decided not to go forward with the project,” adding “many attempts were made by Foxy Brown’s agents to resurrect the deal, to no avail.” (Even […]
Plus: Food & Wine to TIHE; Nelson Drops More Trade Shows; Rushie Op-Ed; Dying Reviews on PBS; NY Finds Christinans
* Food & Wine magazine’s book line will be distributed by Time Inc. Home Entertainment. * Don’t expect Thomas Nelson to change their policy about reducing trade show expenses any time soon. After bowing out of BEA and the annual CBA show, the company’s Spanish division Grupo Nelson announced that it will pull out of the Spanish Christian Book Fairs known as Expolit (Miami) and Expo Cristiana (Mexico). Publisher Larry Downs says: “New market trends are forcing us to re-evaluate the expenditure of every marketing dollar; consequently, we have determined that, for Grupo Nelson, these trade shows provide very little […]