PEOPLE Layoffs are the order of the day, though mergers, not the economy, seem to be the main reason. DK has laid off about 25 people, with more to come. Meanwhile, the move down to Hudson Street has been postponed, apparently as a cost-savings measure. No word yet on Phyllis Grann’s plans, though Random House…Continue Reading
PEOPLE Phyllis Grann’s imminent departure from Penguin Putnam took almost everyone aback, and unnerved more than a few long-time Putnam folks. In other PP news, Sean Moore has left DK US, where he was VP Publisher of the Adult division. He may be reached at 914 591-3220. David Ford came to New York over the…Continue Reading
As Pearson Hones Its Corporate Units, Penguin Putnam Starts Making Sense As Pearson CEO Marjorie Scardino likes to say, “It’s hard to make complicated things simple, but it’s usually worth it.” Well, this month Publishing Trends takes her at her word, and plunges into the fearsome Penguin Putnam organizational chart to sort out the dizzying…Continue Reading
Calendar Publishing Clocks Another Year. But Is There Life After ‘The Far Side’? The Far Side Off-the-Wall Calendar, Gary Larson’s page-a-day phenomenon that has been the number one selling boxed calendar for more than a decade, is history. “He decided that 17 years was enough,” says Michael Nonbello, VP for Andrews McMeel Publishing. “Larson wanted…Continue Reading
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED AT INSIDE.COM (8/15/01) Goodbye, pudding … hello, Jell-O. That’s what millions of children recited as the battle over packaging Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone for the American market flared a few years back. In the stateside edition, gelatin prevailed, while “crooked” morphed into “wonky,” school “holidays” became “vacations,” and “bobbles” were no…Continue Reading
Every publishing career follows a narrative arc. For some, it’s the Proustian ebb of Swann’s Way. For others, it’s Finnegans Wake. And the most gripping career stories tend to be those that jump out of the genre altogether. As conversations with a dozen book-world veterans show, life after publishing does exist, and what’s more, there’s…Continue Reading
PEOPLE There’s much happening at 375 Hudson Street: Danny Gurr has resigned as CEO of DK’s US operations, as a result of the following organizational changes effective immediately: The US editorial department will report primarily to DK UK Publisher Christopher Davis. Sales and Marketing will report through Dick Heffernan, President, Director of Sales, Adult Hardcover…Continue Reading
Vendor Survey 2001 As the old nursery rhyme has it: “Three wise men of Gotham / Went to sea in a bowl; / If the bowl had been stronger / My story had been longer.” The ever trenchant respondents to Publishing Trends’ annual survey on publisher services to wholesalers and retailers have cast publishers in…Continue Reading
PEOPLE As announced previously, Bill Shinker will join Penguin Putnam as SVP and Publisher of an as yet unnamed imprint, on Sept. 4. He was most recently at Free Press, where he had been Publisher from August 2000 to his resignation at the beginning of April. Ken Wright, formerly at Holt Reference, has been named…Continue Reading
PEOPLE Gene Brissie, previously Editor in Chief at Prentice Hall Trade Publishing, has left to become a partner with Bert Holtje in the James Peter Associates Literary Agency. . . . Some changes in the S&S group: BJ Gabriel has been named VP National Accounts, with responsibility for sales of all S&S products, including adult…Continue Reading
