Former publisher at Harcourt Houghton Mifflin Rebecca Saletan will join Riverhead in March. Saletan says, “I have long admired this publisher, and in a very challenging time in the industry I am so thrilled to be at a house that is a paragon of stability and foresight.” She will acquire “a broad range of narrative nonfiction, in such areas as science, travel, natural history, current affairs, the environment and food, as well as literary fiction,” according to the release. Publisher Geoff Kloske says “I’m very pleased to welcome an editor of Becky’s exceptional talent and breadth of experience to Riverhead’s […]
Nelson Leaves PW in RBI Layoffs; Criticas to Stop Printing
Following the suspension of efforts to sell the company last December, Reed Business Information executed layoffs throughout the US division of company yesterday said to comprise 7 percent of employees. The company also is said to have imposed a salary and hiring freeze for 2009. (A separate UK report says that 35 employees were eliminated from that part of the company.) PW’s high-profile editor-in-chief Sara Nelson was among the people laid off. Other reported layoffs at PW include longtime executive editor Daisy Maryles, bookselling editor Kevin Howell, and director of business development Rachel Dicker. From within the same publishing group, […]
Wikipedia Book Has a New Twist on Free
O’Reilly Media’s guide book Wikipedia: The Missing Manual is now available for free online as a Wikipedia entry itself–and open to editing and updating like any other posting on the online encyclopedia. Editor Peter Meyers says “the book is going to reside in the site’s Help area, naturally, since the book is all about helping people edit and navigate their way around Wikipedia…. Our hope is that the Wikipedia community will flock to the book and ‘curate’ it by adding tips, tricks, and by updating the material to reflect changes to Wikipedia since we’ve published the original edition. Down the […]
Keeping Book Soup Warm
“In the wake of owner Glenn Goldman’s death, employees and colleagues ponder the future of the independent bookstore” Book Soup, the LAT writes. The store, and other surviving indies in the LA area, report good results from last year. “According to manager Tyson Cornell, Book Soup did ‘very well’ last year. So did Los Feliz independent Skylight Books, which recently expanded from 2,000 to 3,100 square feet. This December, says manager and co-owner Kerry Slattery, Skylight’s sales were 17% higher than last year. Overall sales for the year were 7.5 % higher.” Efforts to find a new owner for Book […]
Children's Awards to Gaiman and Krommes
Given this morning at the ALA’s mid-winter meeting, the Newbery Medal for 2009 went to Neil Gaiman’s THE GRAVEYARD BOOK. The Caldecott Medal went to THE HOUSE IN THE NIGHT, illustrated by Beth Krommes and written by Susan Marie Swanson. For honor books and the many other awards presented this morning, visit the ALA’s site or Twitter feed.
Lunch Weekly for Monday, January 26
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 Sam Munson’s THE NOVEMBER CRIMINALS, a novel composed for the University […]