News Briefs

The Council for Literary Magazines and Presses (see story above) has entered into a "strategic partnership" with nonprofit indie distributor Small Press Distribution. As part of the arrangement, CLMP head Jeffrey Lependorf will take over as joint executive director of both organizations, although the boards will remain separate. The partnership will help with fund-raising and national programming.

Microsoft has added two significant partners to its book search efforts: the libraries at the Universities of California and Toronto. The software giant announced that out-of-copyright titles from both institutions will eventually be searchable through the company's Windows Live Book Search service. The U. of California Library, with some 34 million volumes, is the largest research and academic library in the world while Toronto's system is the biggest in Canada, with 15 million volumes.

Thomas Nelson shareholders last week approved the $473-million purchase of the company by the private equity firm InterMedia Partners. The deal, which is worth $29.85 per share, is expected to close today, June 12.

Scribner has signed former Chrysler CEO and bestselling author Lee Iacocca to a new deal. Where Have All the Leaders Gone? will address a wide array of business, social and political issues and is due out in time for Father's Day 2007. Scribner acquired world rights to the book; senior editor Colin Harrison will edit.

In another test of the market for e-books, Avon Books last week produced two epilogues to titles by Julia Quinn that were released exclusively as e-books. The new publications are It's in His Kiss: The 2nd Epilogue and The Viscount Who Loved Me: The 2nd Epilogue. These will sell for $1.99 each and will be compatible with all e-book readers.

Uzodinma Iweala was named the winner of the New York Public Library's Young Lions Fiction Award for his novel Beasts of No Nation (HarperCollins). The award—which comes with a $10,000 monetary gift—honors a writer of distinction under the age of 35.

Publishers are invited to submit nominations for this year's Debut Author category of the Quill Awards. Each publishing division or imprint may nominate a maximum of two titles. New authors of adult fiction or nonfiction published in the United States between August 1, 2005, and June 30, 2006, are eligible. Submissions must include title, author, pub date, ISBN, annotated description, cover art and name of publisher. Entries should be e-mailed to karen.mender@quillsliteracy.org. Deadline: June 15.