TODAY'S NEWS

Weisbach Leaving Weinstein
By Rachel Deahl
After more than two years overseeing the refigured Weinstein Books, Rob Weisbach is stepping down. Weisbach came on board in 2005 as Miramax Books was being shuttered to make way for its new incarnation as Weinstein Books. According to a statement from the Weinstein Company, Weisbach is departing to "pursue other publishing opportunities." Judy Hottensen, v-p and publisher of Weinstein Books, will serve as interim-president.

Under Weisbach, Weinstein Books released such titles Plum Sykes's The Debutante Divorcee, Rick Riordan's The Sea of Monsters and Vincent Lam's debut, Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures. A rep at Weinstein Company, when asked about a potential replacement for Weisbach, said an announcement will likely be made "in the coming weeks" on the subject.

Amazon Lets Readers Shop via Text Message
By Lynn Andriani
Amazon has a new way to sell products: cell phone text messaging. The company’s new TextBuyIt service lets customers find and buy items from Amazon.com using their mobile phones.

Like ShopText, which began selling books via text message last summer, TextBuyIt asks customers to send a text message to the company with the name of the book (or other product), and responds quickly for confirmation. A customer must have already set up an account with the company. With TextBuyIt, merely having an Amazon account does not allow a customer to buy a product via text. The customer must first log in to his or her account on Amazon.com and activate the TextBuyIt option. Read on »

Borders Reviews Financing Options; Delays 10-K
Borders announced Tuesday afternoon that it was delaying the filing of its year end 10-K report until April 17. The retailer said the extra time is needed to complete its review of financing alternatives. In late March, Borders’s largest shareholder, Pershing Square Capital Management, agreed to lend the company $42.5 million at a 12.5% interest rate. As part of the agreement, Borders has until April 4 to find another source of funds. In its release, Borders said the company “has entered into discussions with several parties regarding alternative financing proposals.” No decisions on accepting a new loan had been reached as of April, 2, making a delay in the 10-K necessary.

Curtis Brown, ICM Co-Agenting Pact Official
By Rachel Deahl
After Publishing News' Liz Thomson disclosed in February that Curtis Brown and ICM were close to inking a co-agenting agreement, the agencies have made the partnership official. As of April 1 the agencies, which will each retain their own clients, will jointly handle the sale of U.K. and foreign rights for ICM clients.

Four agents who work for ICM in London, under the agency's ICM Books outpost, will move into the Curtis Brown offices in Haymarket. The decision for the pact, ICM executive v-p Amanda Urban told PW, has remained largely the same since the arrangement was revealed months ago, namely to combat skyrocketing London rents and a weakened U.S. dollar abroad.

New Clients for Norton, Consortium
Pegasus has chosen Norton as its new distributor. Pegasus, a Consortium client since 2006, started with Norton April 1. Norton will now handle all U.S. distribution for Pegasus, while Penguin will distirbute the press' titles in Canada.

While losing Pegasus, Consortium added Profile Books. Based in London, Profile will start up with the Perseus-owned distributor for the fall 2008 season. Profile’s U.S. backlist will continue to be distributed by Trafalgar Square Books through December 2008. Profile published the megahit Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynn Truss in the U.K. and focuses on history, memoir, current affairs, business, popular science, and some fiction.

Andrew Franklin, publisher of Profile Books, said the move speaks to the house's focus on expanding in the States. “In the past we hadn’t paid much attention to the U.S. for our books, but as we grew we realized that it was imperative for our authors and books."

The PW Morning Report
By Dermot McEvoy
Friedman Vs. Ross; Copeland Out As Wharton Prez; Segun Afolabi Wins Award; Dublin Literary Award Shortlist; Hillary Hits Bargain Bin; Ventura on Bush; Reed Whittemore Profile; and "Poignant" Reviewer Words Read on »

Blogs

AUTHORS ON THE AIR

Authors on the Air: Richard Price’s Lush Life; Steve Coll’s Bin Ladens; What Would Martin Say?
This morning, Richard Price visited The Leonard Lopate Show with his new book Lush Life (FS&G, $26; Macmillan Audio unabridged CD, $44.95). PW starred its review: “With its perfect dialogue and attention to the smallest detail, Price's latest reminds readers why he's one of the masters of American urban crime fiction.” Read on »

PICTURE OF THE DAY

‘Crashing’ in NYC
Author and political analyst Keli Goff, who previously served as campaign manager for Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, was recently feted at a launch event for her new book, Party Crashing (Basic Books). Goff (c.) is pictured here, at the National Arts Club, with Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and Judge Leslie Crocker Snyder. Submit your pictures here »

JOB OF THE DAY

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