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 Wiley Q2 Sales and Earning Fall Revenue at John Wiley & Sons fell 1% in the second quarter ended October 31, compared to the same period a year ago. Sales dropped to $448.6 million from $451.7 million in the second period of fiscal 2018. Operating income fell 29% over the same time span. more »   HC Remains in Acquisition Mode HarperCollins is one of two subsidiaries where News Corp would consider making another acquisition, News CFO Susan Panuccio said during a presentation to analysts yesterday. more »  U.K. Authors Lobby for Brexit Protections The U.K. Society of Authors has issued a "Brexit Briefing" asking for specific provisions for writers and publishers to be part in the U.K.'s Withdraw Agreement, including copyright protections, favorable export terms, access to E.U. grant funding, and the ability to work in the E.U. more »  Share the Love this Holiday Season In this heartwarming picture book, a mom and dad realize how much love their child has brought to their family. This sweet story is the perfect gift for families and new parents this holiday season. Don’t miss 'Love You More,' by Gary Urda, illustrated by Jennifer A. Bell, available now. (Sponsored) More »
Charles Gallagher, formerly
COO at Perseus Book Group, has been named COO of Arcadia Publishing,
succeeding Paul Raffle, who is leaving the company.
Vanessa DeJesús, formerly
associate publicist at Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, has joined
Penguin Young Readers as publicist.
Kate Gardiner will expand Grey Horse in
2019, focusing on women's nonfiction as an external publicity agency, and can
be contacted at kate@greyhorse.cc.
Emily Ekle, formerly senior
acquisitions editor at Elsevier, has joined APA Publishing at the American
Psychological Association as director of editorial acquisitions for academic
and professional books, including the APA Books, APA Handbooks, and APA
LifeTools imprints.
Stephanie Sirabian, formerly
at Grand Central, has joined Tom Doherty Associates as associate director of
advertising, promotion, and trade operations.
Jennifer McClelland-Smith, formerly
marketing coordinator at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, has joined
Tom Doherty Associates as marketing manager for Forge Books.
 Brisk Sales at Children's Stores Raise Hopes for Happy Holidays
Strong sales at children's bookstores point to a positive holiday season. Sharon Hearn at Children’s Book World in Los Angeles said, "Our customers have a heightened awareness of the need to support independent stores.” more » »  Apple Books Bestsellers: 'Becoming' Stays #1 Another week on sale means another feather in the sales cap for Michelle Obama, whose 'Becoming' became, within two weeks, the bestselling book of 2018. more » »
Moonves
Obstructed Misconduct Inquiry: Facing career-ending sexual
misconduct allegations, former CBS CEO Les Moonves "destroyed
evidence" and "misled investigators."
Goodreads
Users Name Their Top Books: The tenth annual Goodreads Choice
Awards has revealed the site's best books of 2018, with more than 5 million
votes across 21 categories.
The 2018
Reading Women Award Winners: Tara Westover's 'Educated' and
Anjali Sachdeva's 'All the Names They Used for God' won the podcast's annual
awards.
The Best LGBT
Books of 2018: Rounding up 50 of the year’s best queer books,
from a range of genres and on a range of topics.
The Story of
the Little Blue Books: Invented in Troyes, France, these
travel-sized texts started popping up everywhere...and made French Literature
mainstream.
 Children's Fiction Bestseller List 'The Meltdown: Diary of a Wimpy Kid #13' by Jeff Kinney is the #1 title on PW's children's frontlist fiction bestseller list. See the full list » »
  'Army of Empire: The
Untold Story of the Indian Army in World War I' by George Morton-Jack
"In this massive, masterful history, author and lawyer Morton-Jack illuminates the WWI contributions of the far-flung, multicultural Indian army." more » »
It Was All Going So Well… Cynthia Compton
A difficult day in bookselling turns around with the help of a
difficult customer.
 An Advent Calendar, But for Literature Sara Levine, author of the short story "Treasure Island!!!," opens her story in the '2018 Short Story Advent Calendar' (Hingston & Olsen), the fourth annual collection of 24 yuletide stories meant to be read one-a-day during the month before Christmas. Photo: Chris Gaggero |
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In the Spotlight
 Brisk Sales at Children's Stores Raise Hopes for Happy Holidays
Strong sales at children's bookstores point to a positive holiday season. Sharon Hearn at Children’s Book World in Los Angeles said, "Our customers have a heightened awareness of the need to support independent stores.” more 
In the News
 Thai Children's Rights Fair Offers Access to the Diverse ASEAN Market
The second edition of the International Children's Content Rights Fair, which focused on children's content from Southeast Asian publishers, ended its four-day run on December 2 in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The event brought together publishers to uncover new titles, promote different cultures, and exchange industry ideas while facilitating rights trading. more
Trend Watch
 Tapping the Power of Influencers During a November 14 PubTechConnect breakfast event, which was organized by Publishers Weekly and the NYUSPS Center for Publishing, panelists explored how publishers are using social media stars to expand their digital marketing efforts and connect with readers of all ages. more
Reading Report
 Noteworthy Novel Sequels: November and December New series books releasing this season feature mythical creatures, kid detectives, unusual chickens, and other returning characters. more
On the Scene
 On Tour with Shannon Messenger Last month, author Shannon Messenger (l.) set out on a three-week tour in celebration of her bestselling novel Flashback, book #7 in the Keeper of Lost Cities series. Each of the events drew crowds between 200 and 700 fans. Click through to see highlights from the tour, which included readings, appearances by guest authors such as Tamara Ireland Stone (r.), and more. more
Rights Report
 Joy Peskin at Farrar, Straus and Giroux has
acquired Jessica Vitkus's Crafting Change: Helping Community and
Country Through Hand-Made Activism, an exploration of the connection
between crafts and politics from WWI knitting to the AIDS Memorial Quilt to
the Pussyhat Project and beyond. A television writer and producer who has
worked with Jon Stewart and Michael Moore, Vitkus is now a field producer for
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Publication is slated for 2020;
Sarah Lazin at Aevitas Creative management negotiated the deal for world
rights.  Erika Turner at HMH/Versify has bought world
rights to Ghost Roast, a YA graphic novel by Shawneé (l.) and Shawnelle
Gibbs, sisters and authors of the Kickstarter-funded comic series, The
Invention of Ej Whitaker. The book is about the 15-year-old daughter of a
renowned paranormal specialist who is drawn into a dangerous romance after
she discovers her own knack for communicating with ghosts. Emily Cannon
will illustrate; publication is planned for spring 2021. The authors and the
artist represented themselves.  Stacey Barney at Putnam has acquired, at
auction, Bee Fearless: Dream Like a Kid by 14-year-old Mikaila
Ulmer, Me & the Bees Lemonade founder, and Shark Tank veteran.
Pitched as Lean In for tweens, the middle grade narrative nonfiction
book offers practical business advice to kids and shows how setbacks, like
getting stung by a bee at the age of four, could inspire Ulmer to create
lemonade sweetened with honey and to give back to bee conservancy.
Publication is set for 2020; Alyssa Eisner Henkin at Trident Media Group did
the deal for North American rights.  Kate Sullivan at Delacorte has preempted the
1985 Japanese middle grade classic, Kiki's Delivery Service by Eiko
Kadono, winner of the 2018 Hans Christian Andersen Award, about a young
witch getting to know her new seaside community where she starts a delivery
business using her power of flight. It has been out of print in the U.S for
10 years; Delacorte will be providing the first new translation in 16 years,
featuring all-new illustrations from a Japanese or Japanese-American artist
to be decided. The book will publish in 2020 for the 25th anniversary of the
first Japanese edition; Hillary Jacobson at ICM brokered the deal for world English
rights on behalf of Hamish Macaskill at the English Agency and Fukuinkan.  Courtney Code at Abrams has bought, at
auction, world rights to the first two books in Kit Rosewater's (l.)
debut queer middle grade series, the Derby Daredevils, illustrated by Sophie
Escabasse. In book one, fifth-grader Kenzie sets out to form an all-girls
roller derby crew with her best friend Shelly, but things get complicated
when Shelly decides to woo Kenzie's neighbor (and secret crush) to the team.
Publication for the first book is scheduled for spring 2020; Lauren Spieller
at TriadaUS Literary Agency represented the author, and Kelly Sonnack at
Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the illustrator.  Gina Gagliano at Random House Graphic has
acquired Thom Pico and Karensac's middle-grade graphic novel Aster
and the Accidental Magic, about a girl whose parents move their family to
the middle of nowhere. Aster finds her new home incredibly boring—until she
figures out that the countryside might have some magic in it. The graphic
novel was originally published in France in two volumes as the Aubepine
series. Publication is slated for 2020; Anton Heully at Mediatoon sold North
American rights.  Elizabeth Law at Holiday House has bought My
Weird School and The Genius Files author Dan Gutman's Houdini
Problem, a middle grade novel about a kid who grows up in Houdini's house
and is able to communicate with him from beyond. Law edited the author's
first books for young readers, starting with Baseball's Biggest Bloopers.
Publication is planned for spring 2021; Liza Voges at Eden Street negotiated
the deal for world English rights.  Rebecca Davis at Boyds Mills Press has
acquired world rights to author-illustrator Vikram Madan's
middle-grade humorous poetry collection, A Hatful of Dragons: And 13.8
Billion Other Funny Poems, in which words and art blend into
“poem-experiences” that interconnect across the book in unexpected ways. The
book is scheduled for spring 2020; Rosemary Stimola at Stimola Literary
Studio brokered the deal.  Madeline Smoot at Cbay has bought P.J.
Hoover's middle grade fantasy, Homer's Excellent Adventure,
pitched as Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure meets The Odyssey,
in which 12-year-old Homer is about to fail out of school unless he can come
up with the most epic story ever. Homer hates writing and has no idea what to
write about, but the god Hermes sends him on a journey guaranteed to be
filled with adventure (along with plenty of monsters). The book will publish
in spring 2020; Tricia Lawrence at Erin Murphy Literary Agency did the deal
for North American rights.  Sara Schonfeld at Penguin Workshop has
acquired two illustrated chapter books by author-illustrator Derek
Anderson. The Shark Report stars student Benny and his brief but
magical time with a pet shark; book two will also star Benny. Publication for
both titles is set for fall 2020. Tracey Adams at Adams Literary brokered the
deal for world English rights.  Allyn Johnston at S&S/Beach Lane has
bought world rights to author-illustrator Mark Teague's Fly!, a
wordless picture book about a stubborn baby bird who does not want to leave
his cozy nest to migrate south for the winter. Publication is slated for fall
2019; the deal was negotiated by the author.  Sasha Henriques at Little, Brown/Patterson has
acquired The Ugly Doodles, a debut picture book by Valeria Wicker,
and a second, untitled picture book. The Ugly Doodles centers on a
young artist haunted by her half-finished projects. Publication is planned
for summer 2020; Adria Goetz at Martin Literary Management handled the deal
for world rights.  Reka Simonsen at S&S/Atheneum has bought
at auctionEmma Otheguy's (l.) picture book, A Sled for Gabo,
about a boy and his family’s adjustment to snowy weather and their creative
solutions for enjoying a wintry day. Pixar artist Ana RamÃrez González
will illustrate; Atheneum will publish simultaneous English- and
Spanish-language editions in fall 2020. Adriana Dominguez at Full Circle
Literary brokered the two-book deal for world rights for the author, and
Andrea Morrison at Writers House represented the illustrator.  Orli Zuravicky at Scholastic has acquired And
the Whole World Heard: The Story of Anne Frank, a picture book biography
by Linda Elovitz Marshall (l.), which tells the story of Anne Frank
finding her voice as a writer in a world that was trying to silence her. Aura
Lewis will illustrate; publication is set for 2020. Christa Heschke at
McIntosh & Otis represented the author, and Anne Moore Armstrong at the
Bright Agency represented the illustrator for world rights.  Sarah Rockett at Sleeping Bear Press has
acquired world rights to Elsa Boxer's (l.) A Vote Is a Voice,
illustrated by Vivien Mildenberger. The picture book tells the
little-known story of a mother from Tennessee who changed the course of
history when she wrote a letter to her son on the 100th anniversary of
women's suffrage in the United States. Publication is slated for fall 2020;
Steven Chudney at the Chudney Agency represented the author, and Alexandra
Gehringer at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator.  Mara Conlon at Peter Pauper Press has bought
world rights to This Cowgirl Ain't Kiddin' About the Potty by debut
author Sarah Glenn Fortson, illustrated by Russ Cox. The
picture book tells how an aspiring cowgirl learns to conquer “that big white
stallion” and ditch her diapers for good. Publication is planned for fall
2019; the author represented herself, and Teresa Kietlinski at Bookmark
Literary represented the illustrator.
To see all of this week's deals, click here.
IN THE MEDIA
SHELFTALKER
Elizabeth Bluemle Hunting for the Elusive ‘Fancy’ Christmas Present
A seven-year-old has some very creative and specific wish list
items, and her mother and Santa are up for the quest.
more »
Meghan Dietsche Goel The Practiced Art of Sparkle and Shine
A merchandising veteran offers her best holiday decorating tips.
more »
Kenny Brechner The 2018 Stocking Stuffer of the Year Award
DDG Booksellers’ awards are bestowed by a formidable new judge
who has been sworn to uphold integrity in the selection process.
more »
Cynthia Compton The Naughty and Nice List of Customers
A holiday “to do and don’t” list from a children’s bookseller.
FEATURED
REVIEWS
 Otto and
Pio Marianne Dubuc. Princeton Architectural Press, $17.95 (68p) ISBN 978-1-61689-760-4 In this quiet story by Dubuc, the unidentified creature who appears in front of squirrel Otto’s tree trunk dwelling isn’t just uninvited, he’s inconvenient. Otto feels compelled to look after the furry, pink-snouted Pio, but Pio grows larger every day, pushing Otto out of his hammock bed, then out of his house. Dubuc doesn’t insist that readers warm right up to new or strange situations. It takes a long time, sometimes, for creatures to learn to love each other. more  Hedy Lamarr’s Double Life: Hollywood Legend and Brilliant Inventor Laurie Wallmark, illus. by Katy Wu. Sterling, $16.95 (48p) ISBN 978-1-4549-2691-7 Wallmark and Wu add another title to the People Who Shaped Our World series, shining a spotlight on the lesser-known side of movie star Hedy Lamarr: the inventor. Lamarr, with friend George Antheil, came up with an idea for a secure torpedo guidance system during WWII, developing a technology that’s used today to secure digital communications. more  Eventown
Corey Ann Haydu. HarperCollins/Tegen, $16.99 (336p) ISBN 978-0-06-268980-1 In this thought-provoking novel, 11-year-old twin Elodee and her family leave behind an undefined sorrow for a new start in utopian Eventown, where everyone lives in identical houses. Upon arrival, newcomers must visit the Welcoming Center to tell their most intense experiences. An interruption in Elodee’s storytelling leaves her with her memories intact, whereas her twin Naomi can no longer remember her told memories from their past life. more  Spy Runner
Eugene Yelchin. Holt, $17.99 (352p) ISBN 978-1-250-12081-6 As Americans are told to do their part against Communism during the cold war, 12-year-old Jake McCauley is called to action after his mother invites a Russian boarder to rent his father’s attic office. Jake sees his mother’s choice as the ultimate betrayal, given that his father has been MIA from the U.S. Air Force since “the old war, the big one, the one with the Nazis.” Jake is certain that the boarder, Mr. Shubin, is hiding something, and he'll stop at nothing to uncover the Russian’s secrets. more |
December 4, 2018
  
People
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing has a promotion and
two new hires. Alexa Pastor has been promoted to editor at Atheneum
Books; previously she was associate editor at Simon & Schuster Books for
Young Readers. Rachel Berquist has joined as education and library
marketing assistant; she was previously marketing and sales project
coordinator for Partner in Publishing. Amanda Livingston has joined as
education and library marketing assistant.
Abrams has two new hires. Mary Marolla has joined as
children's publicist; previously she had her own PR company, Mare Public
Relations. Borana Greku has joined as marketing manager; she was most
recently associate marketing manager at Macmillan Audio.
Vanessa DeJesús has joined Penguin Young Readers as publicist; previously she
was an associate publicist at Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.
For a look at all of November's job moves, including new hires
and promotions, click here.
On-Sale Calendar
 There are still four more weeks in the year to read some new books, including The Year of the Pig: Tales from the Chinese Zodiac by Oliver Chin and illustrated by Jeremiah Alcorn, which rings in the Lunar New Year. James Patterson offers up Dog Diaries: A Middle School Story with Steven Butler, illustrated by Richard Watson for reluctant readers and animal enthusiasts. New Valentine-themed picture books include Llama Llama, Be My Valentine by Anna Dewdney and Who Loves Boo? by Salina Yoon. And a young readers' edition of an adult nonfiction title about the refugee crisis also releases, entitled A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea: One Teen Refugee's Incredible Story of Love, Loss, and Survival by Melissa Fleming. For more children’s and YA titles on sale throughout the month of December, check out PW’s full On-Sale Calendar.
Bestsellers
 Children's
Frontlist Fiction #1 The Meltdown (Wimpy Kid #13) by Jeff Kinney. Click here  Picture Books
#1 Paw Patrol 5 Minute Stories. Click here
Follow Us
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CONTACT US
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 Ingram In Rumored Bid to Buy B&T Retail Arm The Ingram Content Group has made a tentative offer to buy the retail wholesaling operation of Baker & Taylor, and the Federal Trade Commission has launched what it is calling a “very preliminary investigation” of the proposed deal, sources told PW. more »  Q2 Sales Dropped 8.1% at Barnes & Noble Education Despite declines in total sales and operating income, net income rose due to lower taxes, and B&NE CEO Michael Huseby said the company remains focused "on investing in digital growth platforms and offerings for the future." more »  A Public Space Branches Into Book Publishing The literary magazine, founded in 2006 by former 'Paris Review' editor Brigid Hughes, which won the inaugural Whiting Literary Magazine Prize earlier this year, is launching a book publishing imprint. more »  The Epic Finale to The Dark Artifices by Cassandra Clare
Explore dark secrets and forbidden love in Cassandra Clare’s new Shadowhunters novel 'Queen of Air and Darkness.' The very survival of the Shadowhunter’s world is at stake and the price of true love may prove too costly. Read the gripping conclusion to the #1 New York Times bestselling Dark Artifices trilogy today! (Sponsored) More » 
Amanda Livingston has joined
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing as marketing assistant.
Rachel Berquist, formerly
marketing and sales project coordinator at Partner in Publishing, has joined
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing as marketing assistant.
Alexa Pastor has been promoted to editor
at Atheneum.
Mark Weinstein, formerly executive editor
at Rodale Books, has joined Diversion Books as senior editor and can be
contacted at mark@diversionbooks.com.
Staci Burt, formerly publicist at St.
Martin's Press, has joined Grand Central Publishing as publicity manager.
Ashley Vanicek has been promoted to PR
specialist at Amazon Publishing, supporting the Lake Union Publishing and
Thomas & Mercer imprints.
 An International Stage with Mexican Flavors The Guadalajara book fair becomes more multilingual with each passing year. more » »  Last Call: Travel Publishing Deadline: December 7. We'd like to hear from major guidebook publishers as well as regional and university presses with travel publishing programs. Any new imprints, series, or digital ventures? Has the popularity of Instagram affected the look or content of your books? We'd also like to hear about forthcoming narrative travel nonfiction and other travel-related titles. Pub. dates: February—August 2019. New titles only please; no reprints. Email pitches to features@publishersweekly.com and put “Call for Info: Travel Publishing” in the subject line. more » »
Virginia
Indies Battle Praise for Amazon: Indie booksellers in Virginia
are balking at the idea that Amazon HQ2 coming to the state is good for
business.
Foyles Picks its
Books of the Year: The U.K. chain Foyles has chosen three
books by women as their top titles of 2018.
Korean
Bookstore Chain Faces Boycott: Some groups of men are
protesting the Korean bookseller YES24 after the chain promoted a book
insulting masculinity.
Click here
to join the bookselling conversation in PW's Facebook group for
booksellers.
Why Is Books
Coverage Rising?: Mainstream publications are writing more
about books after years of slashing their coverage—thanks to growth at major
outlets.
Milo
Yiannopoulos Has Gone Broke: The author and alt-right pundit
is more than $2 million in debt," according to documents secured by the
'Guardian.'
Glory Edim
Turns Books Into Community: The founder of Well-Read Black
Girl celebrates the literary voices of black women, from recognized novelists
to lesser known authors.
Why Doesn’t
America Love the Novella?: Overseas, short novels are
celebrated, but here, authors are often pushed to expand. What's the deal?
Books, But
Make Them Twee: Dwarsliggers—palm-sized micro-books—are coming
to America, and act as displays of individualism, idiosyncrasy, and
quirkiness.
 Hardcover Nonfiction Bestseller List 'Becoming' by Michelle Obama is the #1 title on PW's adult hardcover nonfiction bestseller list. See the full list » »
 'Miss Blaine’s Prefect
and the Golden Samovar' by Olga Wojtas "Scottish author Wojtas’s marvelous first novel [is]...a laugh-out-loud farce." more » »
Hunting for the Elusive ‘Fancy’ Christmas Present Elizabeth Bluemle
A seven-year-old has some very creative and specific wish list
items, and her mother and Santa are up for the quest.
 Rock Me and Book Me Jeff Tweedy, lead singer of indie rock band Wilco, in conversation with WBUR's Amelia Mason at the Wilbur Theatre in Chicago last month. Tweedy was supporting his memoir, 'Let's Go (So We Can Get Back)' (Dutton), which went on sale November 13. Photo: Josh Pickering |
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 Online Distribution Platform Ganxy to Close Ganxy, founded in 2009 by Joshua Cohen and Aleks Jakulin to help music and then book publishers sell their content online, is going out of business. more »  Polis Books Launches Diversity-Focused Crime Imprint In an effort to attract a more diverse roster of writers, Polis Books founder Jason Pinter is launching Agora Books, a diversity-focused imprint specializing in crime and mystery fiction. more »  Tapping the Power Of Influencers A PubTechConnect panel explores how publishers are using social media stars to expand their digital marketing efforts. more »  Holiday Savings for Indie Bookstores To support Indie bookstores through the holiday season, Ingram is offering an additional 3% off select titles through December 14th. Speed, inventory, and free freight eligibility during the holidays and all year long help you have the books and sidelines you need when you need them. (Sponsored) More » 
Emma Gordon has been promoted to
publicist, moving over to general interest from Books for Young Readers at
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Corina Lupp, formerly designer at
Razorbill, has joined Harper Collins as designer.
Chris Wellbelove has joined
the board of directors at Aitken Alexander Associates.
IN THIS WEEK'S MAGAZINE
  Thai Children’s Rights Fair Throws the Spotlight on a Fast-Developing
Market The four-day International Children’s Content Rights Fair—which took place in Thailand, and ended its run on December 2—is focused on children’s content from ASEAN publishers and facilitating rights trading within the region and with overseas exhibitors. more » »  Maya C. Popa Joins 'PW' as Poetry Reviews Editor Maya C. Popa has joined 'Publishers Weekly' as its new poetry reviews editor. She is a widely published poet and critic, and will be responsible for editing reviews of poetry collections at the magazine. more » »  Book Deals: Week of December 3, 2018 Harper nabs a just-found Sylvia Plath short story, Margaret Atwood announces a 'Handmaid’s Tale' sequel, and more in this week's notable book deals. more » »  This Week's Bestsellers: December 3, 2018 Several new and backlist cookbooks got a significant Black Friday boost. more » »  PW's Latest Starred Reviews Check out the starred reviews of titles including 'Money in the Morgue,' 'Dear Los Angeles,' 'Miss Blaine's Prefect and the Golden Samovar,' and more. more » »  Call for Information: Home & Garden Books For this feature, we’d like to hear about books on topics including sustainable living and green cleaning, home decor and organization, and houseplants and outdoor gardening. We'd also like to hear from editors, on background, about trends they’re seeing in the home and garden categories. Pub. dates: Mar.–Sept. 2019. New titles only, please; no reprints. Please email pitches and links to artwork to features@publishersweekly.com by no later than Dec. 17 and put “Call for Info: Home & Garden” in the subject line. more » »
'BookBrunch,' LBF Launch 'Selfie' Award 'BookBrunch,' in collaboration with the London Book Fair, is launching the Selfies, an awards ceremony for self-published authors. The first Selfie award will be presented at the London Book Fair in March. more » »
Avery Up at DK
Gayley Avery has been named v-p of marketing and publicity at the publisher, based in its New York office. more » »
Witherspoon Picks 'One Day In December' for Book Club
Josie Silver's novel has been named the Reese’s Book Club x Hello Sunshine book pick for December. more » »
Strand Fights
Landmark Designation: The Strand bookstore is fighting New
York City's effort to name the building a landmark. The hearing is tomorrow.
Indian
Bookstore Now Takes Bitcoin: Sapna Bookstore in Bangalore, one
of the oldest in India, has begun accepting Bitcoin payments for online
sales.
California
Travel Bookstore to Shutter: Distant Lands in Pasadena,
Calif., is closing after 29 years in business.
Click here
to join the bookselling conversation in PW's Facebook group for
booksellers.
Pushcart
Nominee Accused of Plagiarism: Poet Ailey O'Toole has been
accused of plagiarizing poems by other poets including Rachel McKibbens and
Hieu Minh Nguyen.
Capstone
Apologizes for Military Book: After a former Marine criticized
a “choose your own adventure” children’s book set in Afghanistan, the book’s
publisher wrote him an apology.
Bad Sex Award
Shortlist Announced: Haruki Murakami and James Frey lead an
all-male shortlist for the annual prize, which awards the worst sexual
description in fiction.
Danielle Steel
Speaks: The bestselling living author discusses writing 174
books and raising nine kids in a new interview.
The Ethics of
Amazon Video: Should an Amazon boycott include its original
series? A look at the "sinister truth" about the company’s
streaming service.
 Hardcover Fiction Bestseller List 'Fire & Blood' by George R.R. Martin is the #1 bestseller on PW's adult hardcover fiction bestseller list. See the full list » »
 'Stronger, Faster, and
More Beautiful' by Arwen Elys Dayton "These six linked tales delve into the question of ethics in scientific and medical human modification." more » »
The Practiced Art of Sparkle and Shine Meghan Dietsche Goel
A merchandising veteran offers her best holiday decorating tips.
 Saluting Susan Moldow Simon & Schuster held a goodbye party Nov. 28 at New York’s Monkey Bar to honor Susan Moldow who is retiring as president of the Scribner Publishing Group at the end of the year. Pictured here, clockwise from front, are Moldow, Roz Lippel, Nan Graham, Carole Baron, Brian Belfiglio, and Carolyn Reidy. Courtesy S&S |
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Capital Control: Personal Finance Books 2019 (PW
subscriber exclusive)
Deal of the Week
HC Invests in Newly Discovered Plath In a North American rights acquisition, Terry Karten bought a short story by Sylvia Plath for Harper Perennial. “Mary Ventura and the Ninth Kingdom,” which is just over 40 pages, will be released in January 2019 in e-book and hardcover. The story, written in 1952 while the author was an undergrad at Smith College, was recently discovered by a Plath archivist, who brought it to U.K. publisher Faber & Faber. Karten struck the deal with the London-based house, which will release a U.K. edition next January, as well. HC said the story is “a mythic tale of the assertion of female agency.” Karten added that it “vividly portrays” Plath’s “rebellion against convention and her struggle to forcefully seize control of her own fate.”
Taylor Spooks the “Ghost” for RH New Yorker and n+1 contributor Justin Taylor sold Riding with the Ghost to Samuel Nicholson at Random House in a world rights deal. Nicholson preempted the novel from Noah Ballard at Curtis Brown. Taylor, whose debut, The Gospel of Anarchy, was published by Harper Perennial in 2011, here follows a man on a trek across America. The publisher said that, as the protagonist travels, he tries to “come to terms with his father’s successes and failures, as well as his own,” and that the book highlights “the complicated legacy that each generation hands down to the next.”
Nonagenarian Justice Decides for LB Former Supreme Court justice John Paul Stevens sold The Making of a Justice to Vanessa Mobley at Little, Brown. The 98-year-old, who was represented by Amy Bernstein and Peter Bernstein at Bernstein Literary Agency, retired from the high court in 2010. The book, subtitled Reflections on My First 94 Years and slated for May 2019, will, the publisher said, offer “an intimate and illuminating account of Stevens’s service on the nation’s highest court,” touching on such things as his youth in Chicago and his early career as an attorney in private practice.
Pennington Memoir to Zondervan Extreme Home Makeover star Ty Pennington inked a world rights agreement with Zondervan for Life to the Extreme. The memoir, subtitled How a Chaotic Kid Became America’s Favorite Carpenter, is set for May 2019. Zondervan’s Matthew Baugher and Andy Rogers bought the book from Bill Stankey at Westport Entertainment. Life, Zondervan said, will feature “parts of Pennington’s personal story” that he’s never before shared, such as his ADHD diagnosis during college. Pennington is writing the book with Travis Thrasher.
CIA Man Talks for Celadon Former CIA director John Brennan sold world English rights to a currently untitled memoir to Jamie Raab at Celadon Books. Set for 2020 and sold by David Black at the David Black Agency, the memoir will cover Brennan’s three-decade-plus career working in government. Raab said it will allow its author to “provide candid accounts of the milestones and events that have shaped his life and career, [and share] the lessons in integrity and leadership that have always informed his actions.”
‘Charlie Hebdo’ Survivor to Europa Europa Editions acquired a memoir by Philippe Lançon, a journalist who survived the 2015 terrorist attack on the French magazine Charlie Hebdo. Sandro Ferri and Sandra Ozzola Ferri at Europa took world rights to Le Lambeau from Anne-Solange Noble at Gallimard and will publish the English-language edition in 2020. The book was released in France in April and has won a number of literary honors there. Europa said it is “a literary work that focuses on one man’s experience of the events of January 7 and their aftermath, the way they changed his life, and his experience of the world through all his senses.”
S&S Nabs Feng’s ‘Importance’ Simon & Schuster’s Zachary Knoll nabbed North American rights, for six figures, to Linda Rui Feng’s The Importance of Floating. Caroline Eisenmann at Frances Goldin Literary Agency represented the author and said her novel, scheduled for a spring 2020 release, is set in 1986 in a rural Chinese village. There, 10-and-a-half-year-old Junie learns that her parents, then in America, intend to return to the village on her 12th birthday. “What Junie doesn’t know,” Eisenman said, “is that her parents are estranged from each other in America, each holding close tragedies and histories that have created an unbridgeable silence between the two.” The novel, she went on, “unfurls very personal stories of heartbreak against the upheavals of the period” and “tenderly reveals the compromises and improvisations that make up the lives of immigrants.” Feng is a professor of Chinese cultural history at the University of Toronto.
Behind the Deal
'Handmaid's Tale to Get a Sequel Following two years of renewed interest in Margaret Atwood’s dystopian classic The Handmaid’s Tale—which saw a jump in readership and cultural relevance, thanks in part to a popular TV adaptation that began airing in 2017—the author has announced a sequel. The Testaments, set 15 years after the final scene of The Handmaid’s Tale, will be published on Sept. 10, 2019, by Nan A. Talese/Doubleday, which acquired U.S. rights from Karolina Sutton at Curtis Brown, with an announced first printing of 500,000 copies. Atwood said the inspiration for The Testaments comes from the questions readers asked her about Gilead [the fictional setting of The Handmaid’s Tale]. “The other inspiration,” she added, “is the world we’ve been living in.” The Handmaid’s Tale, first published in 1985, was shortlisted for the 1986 Booker Prize. Since then, eight million copies of the title have been sold globally in English, including over the past two years, during which the book spent 88 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.
International
- In the
U.K., 4th Estate preempted a memoir by playwright Joe
Hammond 24 hours after the manuscript was submitted. Hammond was
recently diagnosed with ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease), and the
book, A Short History of Falling, chronicles his experience living
with the debilitating illness and coming to terms with how it will
inevitably cut short the time he has with his young family. [The
Bookseller]
Page to Screen
- Netflix has
optioned multiple titles by Roald Dahl, including such
classics as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The BFG.
The deal, done with the Dahl estate, will see the adaptations air on the
streaming platform as early as next year. [New York Times]
- “Benito
Cereno,” a novella by Herman Melville published in 1855,
has been optioned for series adaptation, with Steven Katz set to
co-executive produce. The story is about a revolt on a Spanish slave ship,
but the series will be set in space. [The Hollywood Reporter]
- A recently
discovered book by Zora Neale Hurston, Barracoon: The
Story of the Last “Black Cargo”, has been optioned by Lionsgate and
Freedom Road Productions (the production company owned by rapper/actor
Common). The book is set to be adapted into a limited TV series. [Ebony]
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