DaVinci Paperback Coming Soon



Anchor Books has set a March 28 release date for the long-awaited mass-market edition of The Da Vinci Code, retailers say. Though Anchor wouldn't confirm the publishing details before press time, the printing figure is likely to outstrip those for the last few Harry Potter paperbacks, which had first printings of up to 2.5 million.

In hardcover, Da Vinci is back at #1 on PW's fiction list, after a dip last fall. For Borders and Waldenbooks category manager Allison Elsby, that's the strongest sign that demand for the paperback will be strong. The hardcover has racked up sales of 12 million in North America.

Perry Returns to RH

Jack Perry has been tapped to take on the role of v-p and director of sales and marketing for the Random House Publishing Group. Perry, who worked in Random's sales department from 1993 to 2002, has been director of trade sales at Scholastic.

Clegg Joins WMA

After co-founding his own literary boutique, Burnes & Clegg, veteran agent Bill Clegg is joining the William Morris Agency as an agent. Clegg, who spent seven years at the Robbins Office before launching his own operation with Sarah Burnes, worked with a collection of award-winning authors at his own venture, including Nicole Krauss (History of Love) and Susan Choi (American Woman). B&C closed down last spring. Clegg will start at WMA on February 1.

Jordan New AAP V-P

BookExpo America public relations director Tina Jordan will join the AAP January 17 as vice-president. Jordan, who is succeeding Katie Blough, will work with the AAP's trade executive committee and the independent publishers group, and will oversee the AAP's statistics and educational programs as well as the Get Caught Reading campaign.

Moyers Up at Penguin

Scott Moyers has been promoted from his position as executive editor at Penguin Press to editor-in-chief. Moyers landed at Ann Godoff's new imprint when it launched in mid-2004. While at Penguin Press Moyers has worked on a number of notable nonfiction titles, including Jeffrey Sachs's The End of Poverty and Jon Lee Anderson's The Fall of Baghdad.

Smith Joins Britannica

Dan Smith has been named senior v-p of consumer sales at Encyclopaedia Britannica. The reference publisher hired Smith, who arrives from FTD.com where he was executive v-p, for his direct-marketing background as EB looks to grow its direct-to-consumer business. Smith will be responsible for, among other things, all U.S. direct-to-consumer sales as well as the company's e-commerce business and its online subscriptions.

Lerner to Open NYC Office

Minneapolis-based Lerner Publishing Group is opening an office in New York City later this month to house editorial staff for its Carolrhoda Books imprint. Shannon Barefield, editorial director of Carolrhoda, will oversee the operation. The office will be used to build Lerner's relationships with the New York publishing community.

E-Book Audience Expands

A look at the e-book bestseller list for 2005 turns up familiar author names and titles. So many print mainstays on the list, published and compiled by the Internation Digital Publishing Forum, is a hopeful sign that the digital book market is becoming more mainstream, said IDPF executive director Nick Bogarty.

The No. 1 title on the list nonetheless was Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sithby George Lucas, while Dan Brown held on to spots 2, 3 and 5 with The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demonsand Digital Fortress, respectively. Michael Crichton landed at No. 4 with State of Fear.

Rona Jaffe Remembered

Though Rona Jaffe, author of the seminal 1958 bestseller The Best of Everything, died December 30 in London, the foundation she established in 1995 to support emerging women writers will continue. Since its inception, the Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers Award has handed out more than $500,000 to 74 recipients.