The PW Morning Report, October 6, 2008
By Dermot McEvoy -- Publishers Weekly, 10/6/2008 5:46:00 AM
Monday, October 6, 2008
A daily rou
nd-up of the latest publishing news: Atlas Postpones Spring List; Dr. King’s Children in Sibling Feud; America’s Nobel Snub; Idlewild Books; Guinness Print Run Increased for Christmas; and Yeats Exhibition in Dublin
Atlas & Co. Postponing Spring 2009 List Until Fall, reports New York Observer
The year-old house founded by editor James Atlas will postpone its spring list due to financial difficulties. "Publishing is a perilous enterprise," said Atlas, "and our current economic situation hasn’t made it easier"
Dr. King’s Children in Sibling Feud That May Kill Book Deal, reports AP
Penguin is threatening to terminate the book contract and demand the return of a $300,000 advance if the children of Coretta and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. do not turn over photos, personal writing and letters within seven business days
Charles McGrath Weighs In on America’s Nobel Snub
In a New York Times piece McGrath analyses the thinking behind Horace Engdahl, the permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, and his graceless snub of American writers. McGrath also does a nice rundown on some of the Academy’s best Nobel Literature blunders
Idlewild Books—Travel Books Done Right
New York Times did a wonderful little essay about a new Indie bookseller that specializes in travel books. Situated just off Union Square in New York City, it is named after the erstwhile moniker of JFK Airport. (If you’re as old as I am you’ll remember: "…There’s a scout troop short a child, Khrushchev’s due at Idlewild, Car 54 where are you?")
Guinness Print Run Increased for Christmas, reports The Bookseller
Guinness World Records 2009 will have an 11% increase in production to meet Christmas demand around the world. The book will be in available in 70 countries with significant English language populations and has been translated into another 25 languages
W.B. Yeats Exhibition in Dublin, reports Los Angeles Times
"Jacket Copy" reports on the exhibition of Ireland’s archpoet at the National Museum. It will continue to at least the end of the year then may cross the pond to the U.S.
