TODAY'S NEWS

Delay in Honorarium Payments Newest Rift Between NYCIP, GSMT
By Jim Milliot
With the New York Center for Independent Publishing still in a state of flux since its executive director Karin Taylor was let go in a cost-cutting move this winter, a controversy has flared over the lack of honorarium payments to speakers at April’s Round Table Writers’ Conference. In an e-mail sent Monday afternoon to the heads of the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen, which operates NYCIP, Tim Brown, who chaired the Writers’ Conference said he was dismayed that two months after the close of the event the $50 due the approximately 80 speakers had not been paid. Brown contended that the General Society had promised to pay the fee in a “timely” fashion. Brown said the lack of payment threatened to alienate large portions of the writing and publishing community, something that GSMT and NYCIP can ill afford as the organizations try to find a way for the independent press organization to move forward. Read on »

Kaplan Publishing Moves Sales to Simon & Schuster
Kaplan Publishing has moved its sales function to Simon & Schuster, effective immediately. S&S has been handling fulfillment and other distribution-relation operations for Kaplan since January 2007. Maureen McMahon, president and publisher of Kaplan, said the new relationship with S&S will “expand our reach and grow our presence at the retail level.”

The switch has resulted in some changes in Kaplan’s sales operation, which included a small in-house sales staff for national accounts augmented by commissioned reps. In addition to eliminating several positions, Mary Dolan will stay on as executive director of sales and liaison between Kaplan and S&S’s sale team, while Jennifer Farthing will move back into her role of executive director, business development between Kaplan Publishing and Kaplan Inc.

Jackson Books Trickle Out
A handful of houses are rushing, or signing, books about Michael Jackson. Now, Triumph Books and Whitman Publishing have announced forthcoming instant Jackson books and Hal Leonard is rushing a Jackson book it had in the works, In the Studio with Michael Jackson. That title, by Bruce Swedien (Jackson's longtime sound engineer who worked on, among other things, Off the Wall and Thriller), was originally scheduled for September and has now been bumped up to July 27. According to a rep from Hal Leonard, Swedien offers Jackson anecdotes as well as "nuts-and-bolts studio details."

Job Moves
Todd Berman will join Random House Publisher Services on July 6 as director, client development, reporting to RHPS head Jeff Abraham. Berman, who will oversee all client development activities, was most recently director of sales at Harvard Business Press.

Zondervan has hired the former head of new product development at Amazon, Joseph Park, to lead Bible Gateway, the company’s online aggregator of biblical resources. In addition to his time at Amazon, Park worked in the Corporate Strategy Group at Microsoft and was the founder of Kozmo.com. He will be responsible for bringing new levels of interactivity and social communications to BibleGateway.com.

Zondervan also hired William Mounce as v-p of educational development at Bible Gateway.

Maria Gagliano has been promoted to editor for Perigee and Prentice Hall Press. Gagliano joined Penguin in 2006 and has been associate editor, serving as the de facto editor for Prentice Hall Press, acquiring dozens as well as overseeing the revision and repackaging of many backlist titles.

The PW Morning Report
By Craig Morgan Teicher
Frey Shopping YA Novel; Amazon Cuts North Carolina Affiliates; Inside the Espresso Book Machine; Instant MJ Books Due This Week; In Defense of Google Books. Read on »

Blogs

AUTHORS ON THE AIR

Authors on the Air: Joey Kramer; Jane Stanton Hitchcock; Julie and Julia
Today, Good Morning America heard from Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer, whose memoir Hit Hard: A Story of Hitting Rock Bottom at the Top (HarperOne, 978-0061566608, $26.99) pubs today. Read on »

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Greenway Gets Her 'Footing'
Catherine Rayner, illustrator of Harris Finds His Feet (Good Books), holds the 2009 Kate Greenaway Medal which she was awarded last week. The Kate Greenaway Medal is one of the top annual awards in the U.K. for illustration in children’s books. Submit your picture here»

JOB OF THE DAY

PW VIRTUAL EDITION

To access the latest issue of Publishers Weekly no matter where you are, be sure to take a look at PW's Virtual Edition -- available online anytime. If you're not already a subscriber, take a look at a sample issue here.