TODAY'S NEWS

Little, Brown Wins Fey
By Matthew Thornton
A Little, Brown official this morning confirmed that the house will publish Tina Fey's book, concluding a beauty contest believed to include Ecco and two other houses. Richard Abate at Endeavor handled negotiations for the project, said to skew more toward humor than memoir; though it's unclear what the final price tag ended up being, Wednesday’s New York Post reported that offers were approaching $6 million. Publishers were clearly smitten with Fey, whose recent Emmy win and “Saturday Night Live” Sarah Palin imitations have ratcheted up her profile; other houses expressed early interest in the project despite Abate’s no-meeting, no-proposal pitch, but one such publisher at a Random House imprint who didn’t bid said that the price tag just became untenable. Rumor had it Fey wanted to go somewhere “literary"; presumably Little, Brown, which earlier this week lured Donna Tartt away from Knopf, fits that bill.

Atlas & Co. Forced to Postpone Spring Books
by Calvin Reid
In what may be a preview of the financial crisis’ effect on small publishers, Atlas & Co., an independent house that partners with both HarperCollins and W.W. Norton, was forced to delay its Spring 2008 list due to the financial crunch. Atlas & Co. founder and publisher James Atlas acknowledged that the house postponed six titles originally scheduled for the Spring until Fall 2009. “We’re small and we’ve been hit by the same financial crunch you’ve been reading about,” said Atlas, who described his current dilemma as “the lot of an independent publisher. I've been through all this before. Nobody said it would be easy.” Atlas was quick to point out that the house is still publishing its fall list that includes such books as Rimbaud by Edmund White; Madame De Stael by Francine du plessix Gray and Like Eating a Stone: Surviving the Past in Bosnia by Wojciech Tochman, all published, he said, to impressive reviews. Read on »

Abel Wins Rittenhouse Award
By Lynn Andriani
The Publishers Association of the West has announced this year’s Jack D. Rittenhouse award winner: Richard E. Abel, who founded Oregon independent Timber Press. Abel will receive the award at the association’s national conference and trade show, which runs from November 13 to 15 in Portland, Ore.

Abel won the award because he has “achieved success in many areas of book publishing while making a significant contribution to the western community of the book,” said board president Doug Pfeiffer of Graphic Arts Center Publishing. Highlights of Abel’s career include working in a bookstore, owning a bookstore, starting a press for limited edition books, founding a company that grew into an international library distributor, establishing a book marketing and distribution company, launching Timber, which has grown into a mid-sized publisher; and creating the modern day library approval plan.

The Rittenhouse Award is given annually in memory of Jack D. Rittenhouse, a writer, bookseller, publisher, lecturer and mentor.

Job Moves
Susan Canavan has been promoted to executive editor in the Trade & Reference division at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Canavan, who's been at Houghton nine years, has a lengthly list of sports authors such as Jeremy Schaap, Neal Bascomb and Ian O’Conner. She also edits The Best American Sports Writing series.

Peter Thomas Fornatale has been named editor-at-large at Falls Media, which specializes in humor books and entertainment properties. Fornatale has worked for Rodale, Crown and Simon & Schuster.

Blogs

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Web Exclusive Reviews
This week on the Web: a vaccine and pediatrics expert on the latest autism myths, an activist on America's fossil fuel addiciton, a bad-boy screenwriter's path to God, a Jewish typographer's memoir of survival in the Nazi counterfeiting operation, a French marine biologist explains the origins of life, and a multi-talented UK writer takes a trip through the human head. Plus: doughnuts, dogs, green cosmetics, farming, Richard Nixon and exquisite Chinese food. Read on »

AUTHORS ON THE AIR

Authors on the Air: Oprah Explores Forgiveness; Clinton Is Freakin' Fabulous; Chef Jeff Cooks
Authors on today’s Oprah: Kent Whitaker, author of Murder by Family: The Incredible True Story of a Son's Treachery and a Father's Forgiveness (Howard, $22.99) and psychologist Dr. Edward Hallowell, author of Dare to Forgive (HCI Books, $12.95), which PW considered a “very compassionate self-help book, laced with examples from the author's personal and professional life.” Read on »

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Toasting LaZebnik
On Thursday, October 2, Claire LaZebnik hosted a star-studded event to celebrate the publication of her novel, The Smart One and the Pretty One (5 Spot). The event, held at the Stuart Weitzman boutique in Columbus Circle, drew LaZebnik’s three sisters as well as some celebrity friends. Pictured here (l. to r.) are: Conan O'Brien; Alice Coleman; LaZebnik; Mike Reiss, writer/producer on The Simpsons; and Mike’s wife, Denie Reiss. Submit your pictures here »

JOB OF THE DAY

PW VIRTUAL EDITION

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