Redmayne to Head Harper U.K.

Charlie Redmayne has been named CEO of HarperCollins U.K., effective August 5. In 2011, Redmayne left an executive position at HC U.K. to become CEO of Pottermore, J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter digital publishing venture. He will succeed Victoria Barnsley, who is leaving the post after 13 years with the publisher.

AG Suit Loses Class-Action Status

A three-judge panel of the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has vacated judge Denny Chin’s 2011 ruling granting the organization class-action status in its suit to stop Google’s

library scanning project. The panel explicitly found that the fair-use questions must be decided before determining class certification. The ruling is seen as a significant blow to the Authors Guild’s case.

Deen Backlist Sales Boom

Despite Random House’s decision not to publish Paula Deen’s New Testament and the cancellation of the embattled cooking star’s multibook deal, Paula Deen’s Southern Cooking Bible, published in 2011 by S&S, and other Deen backlist titles are racking up big sales because of the controversy.

Libraries Win Eisner Prize

At a drawing held at the ALA convention in Chicago, three libraries—Auburn Public Library in Georgia, East Meadow Public Library in New York, and Middlebury Community Public Library in Indiana—were awarded the second annual Will Eisner Graphic Novel Award for Libraries, named in honor of the great comics artist. Each library will receive a collection of the graphic novels nominated for the Eisner Awards, the entire Will Eisner backlist, a $2,000 voucher to purchase graphic novels, and $1,000 to host a comics-related event.

PG Buys Corley Printing

Publishers’ Graphics, a Chicago-based POD and short-run printing company, has acquired Corley Printing, a family-owned book manufacturer established in 1929 and located in St. Louis, Mo. The acquisition will expand Publishers’ Graphics’ capabilities beyond POD and short-run digital to traditional offset web printing. It will add 50,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space to the company’s current 15,000 sq. ft. and will provide more warehousing, fulfillment, and distribution space.

Quercus U.S. Kids List

Quercus, a U.K.-based press, is opening a four-person New York City office to publish children’s books for the North American market. Associate publisher Nathaniel Marunas will head the office, which will initially release about 10 books per year. The list will focus on chapter books and titles for older kids, and it will grow to 25–30 titles by 2016. Random House distributes the Quercus list in the U.S. and Canada.

Urban Fiction From Akashic

Akashic Books is partnering with Infamous Records, a label founded and run by hip-hop artist Albert “Prodigy” Johnson, to launch the Infamous Books imprint, a line of urban fiction. The imprint’s inaugural title, H.N.I.C., an urban crime novel written by Johnson and British novelist Steven Savile, is slated for a July 16 release, timed to coincide with an international tour of Mobb Deep, the two-man hip-hop group of Prodigy and Havoc, his partner. Akashic Books will distribute the titles and co-manage editorial and marketing duties with Infamous. Infamous plans to publish at least four titles per year, with forthcoming books by bestselling urban fiction authors such as K’wan (Hood Rat, Welfare Wifeys)

HUP Hit Book?

Harvard University Press is preparing for the possibility that Ben Urwand’s The Collaboration—which asserts that Hollywood studios had closer ties to the Nazi regime than was previously thought—will be a hit. The release date has been moved from October 14 to October 1, due to a story about the book in the New York Times. First printing is 20,000 copies.