Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg issued a letter on Wednesday to Simon & Schuster warning the publisher that the forthcoming book PEOPLE VS. DONALD TRUMP: AN INSIDE ACCOUNT by Mark Pomerantz, slated for publication on Feb. 7, could violate confidentiality rules and jeopardize continuing investigations of Trump. Pomerantz was a prosecutor in the criminal investigation of Trump brought by former DA Cy Vance in 2021. When Bragg eventually decided not to pursue an indictment in 2022, Pomerantz resigned in protest. The letter from the DA office’s general counsel Leslie Dubeck, which does not seek to block publication, asserts, “Mr. Pomerantz […]
SPARE Counts
NPD Bookscan tabulated first week hardcover US sales of Prince Harry’s memoir SPARE of approximately 630,000 copies in the primary edition (separate from large print and Spanish-language editions). In the UK, Nielsen Bookscan counted opening week sales of 467,000 copies.
Booker Prize Announces Competition to Name Its Trophy
The Booker Prize has launched a competition to name its trophy, which seems to depict a woman holding a bowl over her head. Entrants are “invited to draw inspiration from the history of the Booker Prize and to put forward ideas for the coveted trophy’s official title.” A panel of judges will select and announce finalists on February 9, and then the public will be invited to vote on a winner. The nameless statuette was designed by children’s book author and illustrator Jan Pieńkowski in 1969, and served as the trophy for some time but fell out of use almost […]
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Obituaries: Jonathan Raban, and Marion Meade
Author Jonathan Raban, 80, who wrote “wrote literary narratives of his travel,” died Tuesday in Seattle, of complications from a stroke he had in 2011. His memoir Father and Son will be published in September 2023. Marion Meade, 88, best known for her biography of Dorothy Parker What Fresh Hell Is This?, died on December 29, of complications of COVID. She was also the author of acclaimed biographies on Eleanor of Aquitaine, Buster Keaton, and others.
Buzz Books Spring/Summer Preview: Commercial Fiction
Earlier this week we launched our Buzz Book 2023: Spring/Summer sampler, with excerpts from an array of great forthcoming literary and debut fiction. If you haven’t downloaded your copy yet, the “trade edition” is available now from NetGalley or Edelweiss or find the consumer editions all linked at our main Buzz Books website. And on Wednesday, January 25th we’ll convene our live Buzz Books Editors Panel with moderator Michael Cader hosting six editors and their authors discussing some of the season’s potential breakout titles. In commercial fiction, there are new titles to look forward to from some of the biggest names in publishing. Brandon Sanderson is […]