Macmillan Drops Andrew Morton’s Tom Cruise in UK In the UK Macmillan will not publish Andrew Morton’s biography of Tom Cruise. A spokesperson tells the Telegraph, “Cruise had so many complaints that by the time our lawyers had been through it, there was nothing left but red ink. We have explored every possible option, but have concluded that once the potentially defamatory sections are taken out, there is not enough left to make a good read. Understandably, Andrew is very upset, but apparently he thinks that he may have more luck with another publisher. Good luck to him.” Telegraph Also […]
Lunch Weekly for Monday, April 14
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 Alia Yunis’s THE NIGHT COUNTER, about a sprawling Arab American family […]
Lunch for Friday, April 11
Penguin’s Knack with Breakout Paperbacks The AP celebrates “those paperback sensations” that come every year from the likes of Sue Monk Kidd, Khaled Hosseini, Kim Edwards, Elizabeth Gilbert, and now Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. (Their five books in paperback have sold a total of 13 million copies tracked by Bookscan alone.) “They don’t appear to have a lot in common except that none has won major awards or sold brilliantly in hardcover or was written by anyone famous. It could be explained as coincidence but for one important connection—the publisher: Penguin Group.” The article says: “Relying on luck, […]
Lunch for Thursday, April 10
Janson-Smith “Tempted” Back to Publishing After a short walk on the agenting side, Patrick Janson-Smith is joining Harper UK to launch a new commercial imprint, Blue Door, “focusing primarily on fiction.” Part of Press Books, he will report to managing director John Bond. Janson-Smith remarks, “Being given one’s own imprint is not only a great honor, it’s also a challenge; one to which I have every intention of rising.” He was publisher of the UK’s Transworld from 1981 to 2005, when he left to join the Christopher Little Agency — which he departed last year November, initially to form his […]
Lunch for Wednesday, April 9
Another Boss Quits Pan Macmillan managing director David North is leaving at the end of this week after eight years with the company. He remarks: “I leave the company in great strength coming off the back of a record sales year and a strong first quarter performance. Pan Macmillan is set for an exciting future and I wish them every success.” The company quickly named former Penguin UK executive Anthony Forbes Watson as interim managing director, starting May 1. Macmillan ceo Annette Thomas he “will create a stable and smooth transition period until a permanent appointment is made.” More Personnel […]
Lunch for Tuesday, April 8
Pulitzers In case you haven’t seen the full list: Fiction The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz History What Hath God Wrought: the Transformation of America, 1815-1848, by Daniel Walker Howe Biography Eden’s Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father, by John Matteson Poetry Time and Materials, by Robert Hass and Failure, by Philip Schultz General Nonfiction The Years of Extermination: Nazi Germany and the Jews, 1939-1945, by Saul Friedlander Tracy Letts won the drama prize for August: Osage County and Bob Dylan was given a special citation in music. Personnel News and Announcements Following […]