TODAY'S NEWS

Ostrowski: Random Remains Core Business
by Jim Milliot
The departure of Peter Olson in no way means Bertelsmann is lessening its commitment to American trade publishing, Hartmut Ostrowski, chairman of the German media conglomerate, told PW in a brief interview at Random House’s New York headquarters this morning following news that Markus Dohle has been named the new Random chairman. “Random House is and will continue to be a core business,” Ostrowski said. Ostroswki also stressed that it was Olson’s own decision to pursue a new career after running Random for 10 years. “Peter made Random House a prosperous publishing house,” Ostrowski said. Read on »

Asher Moving Into "At Large" Role at Vintage Anchor
Marty Asher is stepping down from his longtime post as editor in chief of Knopf's paperback imprint, Vintage Anchor, Knopf publisher Sonny Mehta announced in a memo to the Random House staff. After more than 20 years with Vintage, Asher will take the title of editor at large. As Mehta explained in his note, Asher always enjoyed the editorial part of his job the most. "Whether he is working with Dan Gilbert on Stumbling on Happiness or Brian Greene on The Fabric of the Cosmos or Sam Harris on Letter to a Christian Nation, Marty is passionate about the editorial process. So I can’t say that it came as a complete surprise when he stepped into my office recently and said that he wanted to devote more time to acquiring and editing books."

In the wake of Asher's move, there were a number of promotions at the imprint. LuAnn Walther has been named senior v-p, editorial director, reporting to Anne Messitte, executive v-p and publisher. Edward Kastenmeier has been named v-p and executive editor, also reporting to Messitte. And Lexy Bloom and Jennifer Jackson have both been bumped to senior editor.

Lang to Head Abrams U.K. Office
Harry N. Abrams has appointed Chuck Lang managing director of its U.K. office, Abrams UK. Lang, most recently v-p of publishing and marketing at Langenscheidt Publishing Group, had previously been with Dorling Kindersley where he was senior v-p, publishing, and had oversight of DK’s domestic publishing program and adaptation of both U.K. and U.S. books into their respective markets. He will perform much the same function at Abrams, adapting Abrams’ titles for the U.K.

According to Abrams head Michael Jacobs, with Lang’s appointment he expects the U.K. operation to serve more as a publisher of Abrams’s American titles in the U.K., rather than just selling titles into the market. The U.K. office was opened in 2004 and began reporting to Jacobs last year. Sales director Sheila McKenna will stay in place.

S&S Signs Glenn Beck and Janet Jackson
By Lynn Andriani & Rachel Deahl
Conservative TV and talk-radio host and Inconvenient Book author Glenn Beck has signed a two-book world rights deal with S&S imprint Threshold Editions.

The first book, and Beck's first novel, will be The Christmas Sweater, and will be published in hardcover in fall 2008. It will form the basis for Glenn Beck’s 2008 Christmas Show, which will see Beck on a cross-country tour in December telling the story and promoting the book to his fans nationwide. S&S v-p and senior editor Mitchell Ivers, who collaborated with Beck on his previous two books, will edit The Christmas Sweater. The second book, a return to nonfiction, will be published in 2009. Beck’s longtime agent, George Hiltzik, brokered the deal. Read on »

AAP Launches "Get Caught Listening" Audiobook Campaign
by Kevin Howell
The AAP’s high-profile “Get Caught Reading” campaign is being expanded to include audiobooks as the organization introduces “Get Caught Listening” during audiobook events at BEA, and prepared for spots during National Audiobooks Month in June.

The new “Listening” campaign will model its print PR after the original campaign, which launched in 1999, and will include posters of authors, celebrities and personalities being shown listening to audiobooks. It will also feature pre-recorded voiceovers of the subjects waxing about the joys of listening to a book. The AAP is enlisting pro bono support for the program from radio and print media and Internet outlets. XM Radio is already airing the voiceovers on Sonic Theater, XM’s book and contemporary theater channel. Read on »

Blogs

MORE STORIES

On Sale Next Week: Lauren Weisberger
Just in time for Memorial Day weekend, the author of The Devil Wears Prada returns with her third novel, Chasing Harry Winston. According to the PW review, it’s a “hilarious, silly and entirely predictable chick lit romp” that’s also "witty, clever and fun to read.” Read on »

Dorfman Named V-P at Scholastic
Debra Dorfman has been named to the newly created position of v-p and publisher of paperbacks, Cartwheel and Licensed Publishing at Scholastic. Dorfman, who arrives from Penguin Young Readers where she was president and publisher of Grosset & Dunlap/Price Stern Sloan, will oversee all original paperback, novelty and licensed books at Scholastic, starting in her new role on June 9.

Scholastic trade president Ellie Berger said Dorfman is "one of the industry's most savvy publishers of commercial and accessible books for children." Dorfman, who will report to Berger but also work closely with Scholastic v-p and group publisher Suzanne Murphy, said the move was like a return home, since she began her career at Scholastic and spent 12 years at the company.

AUTHORS ON THE AIR

Authors on the Air: Patricia Cornwell; Al Roker; Nerds, Unwrapped
Authors on today’s Good Morning America: Forensic scientist and bestseller Patricia Cornwell, whose The Front (Putnam, $22.95; unabridged Penguin Audio, $25.95) pubs today; and actor Tony Danza, still serving up Don't Fill Up on the Antipasto: Tony Danza's Father-Son Cookbook, (Scribner, $22). Read on »

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings
W.W. Norton executive editor Bob Weil hosted a party last night for professor Annette Gordon-Reed and her forthcoming book The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family, a comprehensive biography and history of Sally Hemings, the slave woman and consort of Thomas Jefferson, as well as their life and the subsequent mixed race family they raised in 18th century colonial America. Her previous book on their relationship was controversial until a DNA test confirmed the relationship. Pictured (l. to r.) are Weil, Gordon-Reed and Norton editor-in-chief Starling Lawrence. Submit your pictures 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.