News Briefs

Meredith Books has eliminated 15 positions and will exit the children's book business and severely reduce the number of titles produced from its New York office. Most of the staff cuts are in the children's and single author areas, and Linda Cunningham, who has been at Meredith since 2002 as editorial director for trade publishing, is leaving the company. Meredith said it will honor all of its obligations to publish authors under contract. In recent years, Meredith had aggressively sought licenses to such well-known children's brands as Spider-Man, Strawberry Shortcake and Care Bears.

BEA organizers have changed plans for the annual convention's return to Las Vegas. Originally set for 2010, BEA will now be held in Las Vegas in 2011; the 2010 show will be held in Washington, D.C. BEA event director Lance Fensterman said scheduling conflicts led to the change, but said he remains committed to moving the convention to different geographical areas. Next year, BEA will be in Los Angeles.

Baker & Taylor has added Public Square Books to its fold, and Larry Bennett, the founder of PSB, has been named v-p of Spanish-language markets for the wholesaler. Founded in 2004 by Bennett, the company signs exclusive licensing deals with Spanish houses to import Spanish-language graphic novels and manga works in the U.S. It was unclear if PSB will continue to publish new titles.

Shutterfly, one of the largest players in the personalized photo book market with revenue of $123 million, has acquired Make It About Me!, a publishing company that produces customized children's books, including My Adventure on Sesame Street and My Amazing Alphabet Adventures. Using the Make It About Me! products, parents can integrate a child's picture into the book's illustrations and story line.

DC Comics has announced plans for a Web comics imprint and online community, Zudacomics.com, that will solicit original comics from fans for Web serialization and possible print publication. The majority of the comics published by the site will be selected by the Zudacomics community, which will vote in monthly competitions on the comics submitted. Zudacomics .com will begin soliciting comics this week and begin promotions during the San Diego Comic-con in preparation for its official launch in October. Zudacomics.com will be directed by Ron Perazza, director of creative services; Kwanza Johnson, DC Comics online editor; and Richard Bruning, senior v-p, creative director.

CBA is canceling CBA Advance, its winter trade show and meeting, and replacing it with a new event that will bring evangelical Christian retailers and publishers together. Although CBA did not disclose many details about the new event, it said that there will be no exhibit floor in 2008. Instead, according to CBA, other ways are being developed for publishers and other suppliers to present new products to retailers. Seminar programs are also being developed.

Craig Walker, v-p and senior editorial director of trade paperbacks at Scholastic, died July 1 of cancer. He was 63. Walker's tenure with Scholastic goes back nearly 25 years. He joined the company in 1983 as assistant editor of the See Saw Book Club and founded the Firefly Book Club for preschoolers. After working at Grosset & Dunlap and Price Stern Sloan, he returned to Scholastic in 1994.