Suit Against Pearson Proceeds

A New York court has ruled that two textbook authors can proceed with a class action case against Pearson Education for failing to pay proper royalties. Plaintiff authors Lawrence J. Gitman and Michael D. Joehnk claim that Pearson has been “systematically shortchanging textbook authors on the royalties they are owed.”

LBF Moves to March

After working to coordinate their scheduling, London Book Fair is moving to March 14–16, and the Bologna Children’s Book Fair will take place April 3–6. Fair organizers wanted to prevent a bottleneck of trade shows and put some distance between the two events.

Kissner Elected Chairman of John Wiley

Matthew S. Kissner has been elected to succeed Peter Booth Wiley as chairman of the board of John Wiley & Sons. Kissner is a former senior executive at Pitney Bowes and has served on the Wiley board since 2003.

HarperCollins Launches HarperCollins Italia

HarperCollins announced the formation of Harper-Collins Italia out of what was formerly Harlequin Mondadori SpA, which has published in Italy for 34 years. Since HC’s acquisition of Harlequin in 2014, the publisher has been converting former Harlequin foreign imprints into HC offices. HC now has offices in more than 17 countries.

Blackstone Audio Expands to Print

Oregon audiobook publisher Blackstone is launching Blackstone Publishing, a new print imprint that will publish classic and original contemporary titles in print and e-book formats, beginning in the fall 2015. The first title will be The Blood Flag, James W. Huston’s new thriller, which goes on sale in print and audiobook formats on November 10.

Lorin Stein Takes At-Large Editor Post at FSG

Paris Review editor Lorin Stein has been named an editor at large at Farrar, Straus and Giroux, where he will acquire or edit four to eight titles a year. Stein emphasized that while he wanted to work on longer book projects, he remains committed to his job at the Paris Review. Stein previously worked at FSG from 1998 to 2010.

Polis Acquires Banned New Zealand YA Novel

Jason Pinter at Polis Books has acquired Ted Dawe’s Into the River, a controversial young adult novel that has been banned in New Zealand, the author’s native country. Originally published there in 2013, the book was targeted by a conservative family group citing the book’s “offensive language” and “strong sexual descriptions.” Polis books plans to publish the book in print and e-book formats in June 2016.

South Carolina Launches New Book Festival

A group composed of Jasper magazine, University of South Carolina Press, author Elise Blackwell, and other local literary activists have organized the Deckle Edge, a new book festival that will launch in Columbia, S.C., next year, February 19–21. It will feature readings, events focused on graphic novels and screenwriting, panels, workshops, and activities for kids and young adult readers. The new show is cofounded by Darien Cavanaugh. A number of South Carolina literary organizations plan to participate, including Hub City Writers Project and the South Carolina Center for Children’s Books & Literacy.