Short news items from the world of book publishing:
11/20/2024
Hachette UK's Russell Evans, James Linney Add HBG US Distro to Purview
Russell Evans (l.) has been named director of business development for Hachette Book Group US Distribution and Hachette UK Distribution, and James Linney will take on the new role of CFO of distribution for HBG and Hachette UK.11/20/2024
Joseph Mercola Launches Joy House Publishing
Dr. Joseph Mercola has launched Joy House Publishing, a new small press that aims to "make cutting-edge health information accessible to an ever-growing global audience." The press, distributed by Simon & Schuster, plans to publish 12 books a year.11/19/2024
Holtzbrinck Names Claudia Häußermann New CEO
Holtzbrinck Buchverlage announced that Häußermann will succeed interim CEO Carel Halff, who has been in the role for two years, effective December 31.11/19/2024
Mariner to Publish White House Photography of Kamala Harris
'Kamala Harris: Selections from the Official White House Photography,' to be published by the HarperCollins imprint on December 10, will include more than 200 photographs of Harris as vice president of the United States and during her bid for president.11/19/2024
S&S Audio, Lemonada Team on New Podcast
'Your Next Listen,' from Simon & Schuster Audio and Lemonada Media, is a weekly podcast series that features full-chapter excerpts of S&S audiobooks. Earlier this year, Lemonada launched its own publishing imprint at S&S.11/19/2024
IBPA to Hold Membership Vote on Proposed Merger with PubWest
The boards of directors at the Independent Book Publishers Association and Publishers Association of the West have voted to approve the merger of the two organizations. Special elections will be held on Nov. 13 and 19 at PubWest and IBPA, respectively.11/18/2024
Ilana Gold Joins Authors Equity as Head of Publicity
Gold joins the hybrid publishing startup, launched earlier this year, from Workman Publishing, where she was director of publicity and marketing.11/18/2024
HarperCollins Inks AI Licensing Deal for Nonfiction Books
A new licensing agreement between HarperCollins and an undisclosed AI company will “allow limited use of select nonfiction backlist titles for training AI models to improve model quality and performance,” per a company statement.11/18/2024
Penguin to Publish Biography of Mike Tyson
Penguin Press will publish ‘Baddest Man: The Making of Mike Tyson’ by Mark Kriegel on June 10.11/18/2024
Binc Launches Year-End Fundraising Campaign
In partnership with 30 authors led by Ann Patchett and Amor Towles, the Book Industry Charitable Foundation has a launched a year-end fundraising campaign, “I Stand with Book and Comics Stores.”11/18/2024
Publishers Group West to Distribute McNally Editions
The division of Ingram Publisher Services has signed a global distribution agreement with independent publisher McNally Editions, the publishing arm of New York bookstore chain McNally Jackson Books, effective January 1.11/18/2024
Parul Sehgal Returns to the ‘New York Times’
‘New Yorker’ staff writer and ‘PW’ alumna Parul Sehgal will return to the ‘New York Times’ as a critic-at-large on December 23, where she will “contribute regular essays and anchor our new Ideas initiative.”11/15/2024
B&N Picks 'James' as 2024 Book of the Year
Barnes & Noble booksellers have chosen Percival Everett's novel as their Book of the Year. Katherine Rundell's 'Impossible Creatures' was named Children’s Book of the Year, and Amy Tan's 'The Backyard Bird Chronicles' was chosen as Gift Book of the Year.11/15/2024
Global 50 Con Webinar to Address Consolidation in the Book Business
Organized by consultant Ruediger Wischenbart, the panel will feature BISG executive director Brian O’Leary and ‘PW’ editor-at-large Jim Milliot, among others, as they unpack consolidation across all parts of the global publishing ecosystem.11/14/2024
Yen Press Inks Global Partnership with Hachette
Hachette will handle sales and distribution for Yen Press in the U.K., India, Australia, and New Zealand.11/14/2024
Todd Portnowitz Promoted to Senior Editor at Knopf
Portnowitz, who joined Knopf in 2016, is also a translator of Italian literature, including that of Knopf author Jhumpa Lahiri.11/14/2024
Two Rivers to Distribute City Owl Press
Two Rivers Distribution, a division of Ingram Publisher Services, will distribute for New York-based independent book publisher City Owl Press in North America effective February 2025.11/14/2024
CAA Appoints John Storey as CFO
Storey comes to Creative Artists Agency from IT company Asurion, where he seved as president of finance and operations.11/14/2024
Kerry Moynagh to Oversee Usborne Sales at HarperCollins
Moynagh, who has served as VP and executive director of children's sales for the last two years, will be taking on the role of VP of sales for Usborne, the U.K.-based children's publisher that is distributed in the U.S. by HarperCollins.11/13/2024
Quadrille Rebrands Ahead of 30th Anniversary
Quadrille, which was acquired last year by Penguin Random House UK, has unveiled a new logo and mission statement.11/13/2024
Amazon Names Best Books of 2024
Thomas Fuller's 'The Boys of Riverside' took the #1 spot on the 100-book list, with Liz Moore's 'The God of the Woods' and Percival Everett's 'James' rounding out the top three.11/13/2024
Abrams Names Melissa Orilia as CFO
Orilia, who previously held controller roles at media companies GroupM and Cohn & Wolfe, will step into the role of chief financial officer at Abrams on November 18. She will report to president and CEO Mary McAveney.11/13/2024
Libro.fm Names Top Audiobooks of 2024
The digital audiobook platform has released its list of bestselling audiobooks for 2024, with Emily Henry's 'Funny Story' claiming the top spot and titles published by Penguin Random House Audio dominating the list.11/12/2024
Arthur Sze to Receive 2024 Bobbitt Poetry Prize
The Library of Congress will award the 2024 Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry to National Book Award winner Arthur Sze on December 5. The biennial prize comes with a $10,000 purse.11/12/2024
IDW Readies Two New TMNT Volumes for 2025
The comics publisher will release the first collected volume of Jason Aaron’s run on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series and The Last Ronin II, penned by Turtles cocreator Kevin Eastman, next summer.11/11/2024
HFS to Distribute SUNY Press
Hopkins Fulfillment Services has inked a deal with the State University of New York Press to distribute its catalog, effective February 1, 2025.11/11/2024
Judy Hottensen to Step Down as Associate Publisher at Grove Atlantic
Hottensen, a 30-year veteran of the press, will step down from her position as VP and associate publisher on January 1.11/11/2024
13th Annual University Press Week Begins
This year’s celebration of the contributions of university presses to book publishing is being held Nov. 11-15, under the theme “Step UP.”11/08/2024
Aron Levitz Named Copresident of Wattpad
Levitz, who joined Wattpad in 2013, will helm the company alongside KB Nam. He will retain his role as president of Wattpad Webtoon Studios, which he has held since 2021 following Wattpad's acquisition by Webtoon.11/08/2024
Jennifer Goddard Joins HBG as Senior Director of Communications
Goddard comes to Hachette Book Group from St. John's University, where she served as director of marketing and communications.11/07/2024
Audible Grants Early Access to New Royalty Model, Features
The audiobook platform has given a "select group" of ACX early access to its new royalty model and features, first announced earlier this year.11/07/2024
HarperCollins Announces New Marketing Appointments
Katie Tull has been promoted to director of integrated marketing and analytics for the Morrow Group and HarperCollins Children’s, and Odette Fleming has joined Morrow as associate director of marketing.11/07/2024
Chatwin Publishing Offers Affirming Free Poster to Bookstores
Independent press Chatwin Publishing, headquartered in Seattle, has designed a poster for bookstores that addresses post-election uncertainty by proclaiming, 'Light is always the answer to darkness.'11/07/2024
AWP Launches Scholarship Program for HBCUs
The Association of Writers & Writing Programs will launch a new initiative supporting creative writing educators from historically Black colleges and universities in exploring the “viability of MFA programs” at their schools.11/07/2024
RGG.com to Host Virtual Book Group Speed Dating
ReadingGroupGuides.com will host a virtual event with representatives from nine publishers, who will share selections from their publishing houses via video to give booksellers, librarians, and book group leaders an inside look at new and upcoming titles.11/06/2024
Minneapolis to Host Concert for Banned Books
Lerner Publishing Group is organizing a concert with four bands in Minneapolis to rally support among music lovers for books, libraries, and the freedom to read.11/06/2024
Microcosm Launches New Direct Sales Initiative
Through the "Microcosm Guarantee," orders from indie bookstores that come through Microcosm’s website, sales reps, or in-house sales team will now be shipped within 48 hours.11/06/2024
Amazon to Shutter Kindle Vella
The mobile-first self-publishing service for serialized stories, available through the Kindle app, will close down in February 2025.11/05/2024
FEP Elects Polish Publisher Sonia Draga as 2024-2026 President
Draga will succeed Ricardo Franco Levi, and will be the Federation of European Publishers’ first woman president.11/05/2024
S&S to Distribute ACC Art Books
Simon & Schuster will begin handling sales and distribution for the U.K.-based ACC Art books and its distributed publishers in the U.S. and Canada, effective May 1, 2025.11/05/2024
Catherine Richards Up at Minotaur
The editorial director of Minotaur Books, an imprint of the St. Martin’s Publishing Group at Macmillan, has been promoted to VP.11/04/2024
Andrea Walker Joins Harper Group as VP, Executive Editor
Walker joins Harper from Random House, where she was VP and executive editor. She has previously held editorial positions at Penguin Press, Little, Brown, and the 'New Yorker.'11/04/2024
Ingram Appoints Sree Ravela as VP of Fulfillment Systems
Ravela joins Ingram Content Group from Nashville-based software company BOS Framework, where he served as COO. He previously held high-ranking roles at Quest Diagnostics and Bridgestone Americas.11/04/2024
DK Acquires Canelo Group
The U.K.–based independent publisher of genre fiction and nonfiction and its imprints—Canelo, Canelo Crime, Hera, and August—will “maintain [their] independent identity while benefiting from DK’s resources,” per a release.11/01/2024
'n+1' Teams With McNally Jackson for Annual Bookmatch Fundraiser
The literary magazine has partnered with the indie bookseller to launch the fifth edition of its Bookmatch fundraiser.10/31/2024
Heather Moore Promoted to Executive Director of Marketing for Sourcebooks Kids
Moore, who has been with Sourcebooks for 22 years, will add international marketing strategy to her purview in her new role.10/31/2024
IDW Takes Patrick Horvath’s Graphic Novel Debut Back to Print
The surprise hit ‘Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees’ has sold through its first printing of 20,000 copies, per the comics publisher, and will go back to press with 15,000 more.10/30/2024
Christine Dunbar Promoted to Editorial Director of Columbia University Press
Dunbar has been with the press for 13 years, most recently as senior editor, and replaces former editorial director Eric Schwartz, who left in August to become director of NYU Press.10/30/2024
2024 PEN Prison Writing Award Winners Announced
PEN America has announced the winners of the 2024 PEN Prison Writing Awards, recognizing 31 incarcerated writers across 18 states in five genres—poetry, fiction, essay, memoir and drama—as well as two special categories.10/30/2024
Poets, Publishers Team to Support Recovery Efforts in Appalachia
Poets for Appalachia, a joint initiative of local poets and publishers spearheaded by North Carolina poet and translator Niina Pollari, is raising money through October 31 to help western North Carolina rebuild after Hurricane Helene.News Brief Archive
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