TODAY'S NEWS

Authors Guild Warns on S&S e-Book Royalty Proposal
by Jim Milliot
The Authors Guild has sent out an advisory to its members suggesting that they carefully review a letter from Simon & Schuster that looks to add an amendment to their contracts that will set the standard royalty for e-books at 15% of the catalog retail price for e-books. The Authors Guild alert makes three points about the proposal: members should discuss the amendment with their attorney or agent; warns that, depending on a member’s particular contract with S&S, the amendment may grant S&S rights that otherwise would be retained by the author; and notes that members should be aware that the amendment may affect their ability to obtain a reversion of rights. Read on »

Deen Brothers Bring Next Two Cookbooks to Ballantine
By Lynn Andriani
Ballantine will publish the next two cookbooks by food authors and TV personalities Jamie and Bobby Deen, sons of TV Food Network star and bestselling author Paula Deen. Pamela Cannon, who acquired and edited Paula Deen’s first two cookbooks, The Lady & Sons and The Lady & Sons, Too, made the deal for North American rights with Janis Donnaud of Janis A. Donnaud & Associates, Inc. working in conjunction with Barry Weiner of Artists Agency.

The first book, written in conjunction with Melissa Clark who the Deens worked with on their first two books, will be published in fall 2009 and will have recipes geared to quick weeknight dinners. The second book, scheduled for spring 2010, will focus on outdoor cooking, including grilling, tailgating, picnics, clambakes and more. Both books will be illustrated with four-color photographs throughout.

Meredith published the Deen brothers’ previous books, Y’All Come Eat (April 2008) and The Deen Bros. Cookbook (2007).

Storey to Publish First Memoir
by Judith Rosen
Like 25-year-old Web designer Jenna Woginrich, 25-year-old Storey Publishing is willing to try new things, especially when they involve sustainable living. Woginrich’s first book, Made From Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life is also Storey’s first in the memoir category. Due out in December, the book describes Woginrich’s efforts to raise chickens, keep bees, grow her own food and cook—mistakes and all. Read on »

UK Audio Publisher CSA Word Enters U.S.
by Kevin Howell
Independent British audiobook publisher CSA Word will break into the U.S. market in August with distribution through Publishers Group West. Without any ties to large book publishers, the audio publisher has produced a backlist of nearly 400 classic titles since its founding in 1989. Read on »

Trafalgar Square Adds Nine Houses
Trafalgar Square, the IPG unit that distributes the titles of U.K. publishers in the U.S., has added nine new distribution clients to its roster: Richmond, UK-based publisher of literary fiction and non-fiction, Alma Books; the music production company Angry Penguin Ltd.; the UK and Germany-based publisher of equine and canine titles, Cadmos Books; the London-based Capuchin Classics, which does classics titles featuing forewords by contemporary writers and scholars; the History Press Ltd, a UK-based publisher of specialist history; the London and Oxford-based OneWorld Classics/Calder Publications, which does lesser-known classics and new translations; Paitkus Books, recently acquired by Little, Brown UK, which does health, business and self-help; Pushkin Press, a London-based indie which does classics and contemporary translations; and Spy Publishing, the publishing arm of the travel services company Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

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RH Canada Goes With Green Energy
Random House of Canada has signed on with a green energy supplier to power a portion of its operations. The Toronto-based publisher has agreed to purchase emissions-free electricity from Bullfrog Power, a Canadian provider of green electricity. The house has agreed to purchase nearly 1,300 MWh of green electricity annually, covering operations in both Toronto and Mississauga, Ontario. RHC CEO Brad Martin said the company "takes our environmental responsibility seriously,” adding that it has "been impressed by the positive impact Bullfrog is having and are pleased to be working with them as one of our environmentally conscious initiatives.”

Monday's Reviews Today: Cain's Sweetheart & Iran Exposed
In Sweetheart, Chelsea Cain's "superb follow-up" to her serial killer hit, Heartsick, the author unravels another well-paced chapter in the cat and mouse game between detective Archie Sheridan and serial killer Gretchen Lowell. This second book from Cain will "leave readers desperate for more." And in Hooman Majd's The Ayatollah Begs to Differ: The Paradox of Modern Iran, the Western-educated grandson of an ayatollah examines Iranian society. According to our critic: "Nothing is too small or too sweeping for Majd to consider" and he offers a "remarkable ride through what is often uncharted territory." Read on »

AUTHORS ON THE AIR

Authors on the Air: Mandela!; David Sedaris; Pure Goldwater
This morning on Today: Pulitzer Prize–winning photographer and filmmaker David Turnley, whose book is Mandela! Struggle & Triumph (Abrams Books for Young Readers, $35). After the jump: David Sedaris on Letterman and Jane Mayer on torture. Read on »

PICTURE OF THE DAY

'Bachelorette' at Book Soup
Monday night television star Ananda Lewis (l.) and Donald Welch, author of The Bachelorette Party, were at West Hollywood’s Book Soup Bookstore. Welch was celebrating the release of his novel, which is based on his critically acclaimed play, and the fact that Will Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment has optioned the book. Submit your pictures here »

JOB OF THE DAY

PW VIRTUAL EDITION

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