TODAY'S NEWS

Amazon Launches Publishing Program
By Rachel Deahl
In its first significant foray into publishing, Amazon has acquired world English rights to a self-published novel by a midwestern teenager called Legacy. Amazon is re-releasing the title, in hardcover, in August through its AmazonEncore program. The fantasy title, by Cayla Kluver, is the first in a trilogy--it was published under the banner Forsooth Books, which was launched by Kluver and her mother--and, according to Amazon, it's currently unclear how many titles AmazonEncore will be releasing. Read on »

NEA Selects Copper Canyon to Publish Chinese Anthology
By Lynn Andriani
The National Endowment for the Arts has chosen Copper Canyon Press to be the U.S. publisher for its International Literary Exchange with China. The exchanges are designed help American houses publish and promote contemporary anthologies in translation. Copper Canyon will receive $117,000 to support the translation, publication and promotion of a bilingual anthology of work by about 35 Chinese poets born after 1945. The anthology is slated for spring 2011 and will be edited and introduced by poet and editor Qingping Wang. Chinese literature scholars (and husband-and-wife) Howard Goldblatt and Sylvia Li-chun Lin will translate. Read on »

Starbucks Picks Crazy for the Storm
By Lynn Andriani
The next selection in Starbucks’s book program will be Crazy for the Storm: A Memoir of Survival by Norman Ollestad, which Ecco will publish on June 2. The book tells the tragic story of the pivotal event of Ollestad’s life: an airplane crash into the side of a mountain that cost three lives, including his father's, in 1979. PW called it “an inspiring, fascinating read.” The book will be offered at more than 7,000 Starbucks locations in the U.S. Read on »

BEA Sets CEO Panel, Bookseller of the Year Ceremony
A CEO panel featuring Brian Murray, president and CEO of HarperCollins; Carolyn Reidy, president and CEO of Simon & Schuster; John Sargent, president and CEO, Macmillan; and David Steinberger, president and CEO, Perseus Books Group will be held May 28 at 3:00 P.M. in Room 1E14 at the Javits Center. The panel will be moderated by Tina Brown, co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Daily Beast. The CEO Roundtable will be immediately followed by the BEA Editor Buzz at 4:15 P.M., which will take place in the same room. BEA has also announced that PW's Bookseller of the Year and Rep of the Year awards will be presented at the Saturday author luncheon. Carmichael’s Bookstore is the Bookseller of the Year, while Tom Benton took the rep honors. Authors speaking at the lunch are Pat Conroy, Lorrie Moore and Dan Pink, with Ken Auletta the emcee.

Schroder to Leave Candlewick
By Judith Rosen
Somerville, Mass.-based Candlewick Press continues to realign its sales and marketing areas and will bring its digital development and theatrical/marketing liaison work in-house. As a result, Friday will be the last day for Charlie Schroder, who has worked with Candlewick on licensing and development for the past three years, most recently consulting as v-p at large. Creative Artists Agency in Los Angeles will continue to represent Candlewick’s film and TV rights. Read on »

Blogs

MORE STORIES

Page to Screen: New Sophie Kinsella and a U.K. Thriller Set in Pittsburgh
By Rachel Deahl
This week in Page to Screen—PW's weekly column tracking film rights circulating and sold in Hollywood—Sophie Kinsella's latest starts circulating along with a new thriller from the U.K. Sophie Kinsella's forthcoming novel, which Dial is publishing in July, is, we hear, just starting to make the rounds in Hollywood. British agent Val Hoskins is working with CAA co-agent Brian Siberall on the film rights for Twenties Girl, about a just-dumped 20-something named Lara whose life is drastically changed when she's visited by her recently deceased 105-year-old Aunt Sadie. When Sadie, who appears as a 23-year-old flapper, strong-arms Lara into helping her find a misplaced necklace, ghost and girl strike up an unlikely friendship. When asked about the submission, CAA declined to comment. Read on »

Job Moves
Nancy Miller has joined the Bloomsbury/Walker editorial department as a consulting editor and will acquire both nonfiction and fiction titles. Miller was most recently v-p, executive editor at Collins/HarperCollins, and held top spots with Ballantine, Pocket and Farrar, Straus & Giroux. She will report to Bloomsbury head George Gibson.

Andrew Pate has joined On Demand Books as senior v-p of business development. Most recently senior v-p of global operations at Lulu.com, Pate will be responsible for leading and managing ODB’s business development and sales and marketing initiatives with publishers, retailers, libraries and institutions.

The PW Morning Report: Thursday May 14, 2009
A daily roundup of book and publishing news from across the Web: Obama’s NEA Head; Kindling Your Blog; Catcher In the Rye Two; Amazon, Publisher. Read on »

AUTHORS ON THE AIR

Authors on the Air: How to Shop for a Husband; Andy Andrews; Aleksandar Hemon
This morning, Today hosted consumer reporter Janice Lieberman, whose How to Shop for a Husband: A Consumer Guide to Getting a Great Buy on a Guy (St. Martin's Press, 978-0312549985, $22.95) is just out this week. Read on »

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Amarillo Welcomes David Benioff
Last week, Amarillo Reads celebrated David Benioff’s novel City of Thieves with a reading and Q&A co-sponsored by Hastings Entertainment at the Globe News Center for the Performing Arts in Amarillo, Tex. Pictured here (l. to r.) are: Lori Sprague, children’s buyer for Hastings Entertainment; Kasey Pfaff, Penguin sales rep; Amarillo Public Library program specialist Cynthia Hunt and public relations coordinator Stacy Yates; Benioff; Cherie Norman, advertising manager for Hastings Entertainment; Sylvia Everitt, book category manager for Hastings Entertainment; Tracy Kaempfe, fiction buyer for Hastings Entertainment; and Mollie Quinn, literature buyer for Hastings Entertainment.
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