Microsoft Book Beta Live Microsoft launches the beta version of its online book search feature today. Once the beta period is over, planned for about six months, Microsoft says they will incorporate book search results into their general search index. Google is also at work on putting their book search data into the general index, though a timeline has not been specified. And Google is planning on launching their paid online access program in the first quarter of next year, according to a member of the book search team. First announced in March 2006, and said at the time to […]

Personnel News Andrea Schulz has been promoted to editor-in-chief at Harcourt, overseeing hardcover acquisition for the adult list, and reporting to publisher Rebecca Saletan. At Scholastic, president of the eScholastic division Seth Radwell is taking the additional position of president of Scholastic at Home, the company’s “direct-to-home parent resource” that includes school continuity programs and Back to Basics Toys. Radwell takes over the line from Judy Newman, who remains as president of Scholastic Book Clubs. At Bookspan’s Madison Park Press, Christine Zika joins the unit as executive editor, acquiring and editing original book projects. She was a senior editor at […]

Carter Courts Controversy Today’s book newsmaker is former president Jimmy Carter, whose PALESTINE: Peace Not Apartheid “strongly criticizes Israel and the United States for blocking serious peace initiatives and exacerbating terrorism in the Middle East” as the LAT puts it. Carter tells the paper, “This is a subject which, in my mind, has rarely if ever been honestly debated or discussed in the United States.” LAT Sentenced Martha Ivery was recently sentenced to 65 months in prison, Victoria Strauss reports on her blog, after pleading guilty a year ago to 15 counts of mail fraud “in connection with taking money […]

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 NY Giant star and two-time Super Bowl champion Mark Bavaro’s first novel, […]

Leno and NBC Sue Over Joke Books Jay Leno and NBC Studios, joined by comedians including Rita Rudner, filed suit in federal court in LA on Wednesday against author Judy Brown and publishers said to include Andrews McMeel and Sterling for 19 joke collections of hers. The suit claims the books comprise “substantial amounts of published comedic material that is wholly original with [the] plaintiffs.” The filing also asserts that Brown “apparently covered the LA comedy scene as a journalist — thus she has stolen the jokes of the very comedians she was supposed to be writing about. Ms. Brown […]

Regan’s Regulars and More Confessions It’s already well-known that the man who actually wrote OJ Simpson’s alleged hypothetical confession Pablo Fenjves had a long-standing working relationship with Judith Regan, and now Lunch has discovered another player in the project as well. Contrary to previously published reports, “advance payments” for the project were not paid directly to Lorraine Brooke Associates, but rather went to Transactional Marketing Partners in Santa Monica, CA, care of company president Bret Saxon as agent for Lorraine Brooke Associates. HarperCollins disclosed this information to Denise Brown’s attorney Natasha Roit by e-mail last week. Roit mentioned Saxon and […]