BTW News Briefs

Bookselling Without Borders Now Taking Scholarship Applications

Bookselling Without Borders, a scholarship program that sends booksellers to international book fairs, is currently accepting applications for all-expenses-paid trips to the Turin Book Fair, the Frankfurt Book Fair, and the Guadalajara International Book Fair.

Europa Editions and Other Press launched the scholarship program last year, and several more principal sponsors have signed on since then: Rutgers University Press, Princeton University Press, Graywolf Press, The New Press, Catapult, and Ingram Content Group. Also in 2017, the group launched a Kickstarter campaign that received over $30,000 from more than 250 individual donors.

Booksellers may apply for the program from now through February 28 on the Booksellers Without Borders website. Scholarship winners will be announced in March.

New York Times Book Beat Reporter Cites Indie Bookstore Comeback

The New York Times recently published an interview with Alexandra Alter, who covers the book industry for the paper, as part of a series on how Times reporters use technology in their work and personal lives.

In the article, titled “How Technology is (and Isn’t) Changing Our Reading Habits,” Alter discussed e-books and print books, traditional and self-publishing, as well as Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and independent bookstores.

Alter cites the resurgence of indie bookstores in response to the Times’ question, “What will be the fate of physical bookstores? And what do you think about Amazon’s bookstores?” She says, “Indie bookstores have made a surprising comeback in recent years (a trend that might be connected to the resurgence of print books). A lot of independent stores have been so successful that they’ve expanded into mini-chains…Amazon’s entry into the physical retail space has been fascinating. I’m not sure how successful the experiment has been. When I visited the Amazon bookstore at New York’s Columbus Circle, it definitely felt like a device store that also sold books.”

Read the entire interview here.

NCAC Publishes Report on Art Censorship in Trump’s First Year

The National Coalition for Censorship’s director of programs, Svetlana Mintcheva, has published a study concerning the prevalence of art censorship in the first year of the Trump administration.

The study, titled “One Year In: Art Censorship and a Divisive Presidency,” addresses new government policies that restrict the exchange of ideas, pressures from private money, and an increase in grassroots groups demanding the destruction of art they view as objectionable.

After citing examples from the past year, including the demise of net neutrality, extreme media consolidation, and increasing social polarization, Mintcheva concludes that the country is “at a true moment of crisis — in the sense of deep change.” She writes, “Where we go next is not yet clear. But surely, our work as advocates for artistic freedom has become both more challenging and more necessary.”

Read the entire piece on the NCAC website.

Buzz Books 2018: Spring/Summer Excerpts Now Available

Publishers Lunch has made excerpts from 52 of the most buzzed-about books to be published this fall and winter available in the form of two new free e-books.

Buzz Book 2018: Spring/Summer and Buzz Books 2018: Young Adult Spring/Summer feature excerpts from many of the authors who appeared at the 2018 Winter Institute, including Aminatta Forna, author of Happiness (Atlantic Monthly); Mario Giordano, author of Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt); Sheila Heti, author of Motherhood: A Novel (Holt); and Stephen McCauley, author of My Ex-Life (Flatiron).

The consumer edition of Buzz Books is available in the U.S. and Canada on all major e-book platforms, and the trade editions are available at PublishersMarketplace.com and NetGalley. In most cases, full digital galleys of the trade version are also available from NetGalley upon request.

Simon & Schuster to Distribute Regnery

Simon & Schuster has entered into a distribution agreement with Regnery Publishing, effective July 1, the company announced.

Simon & Schuster will handle distribution for Regnery titles in all markets and territories around the world, as per the agreement. The publisher of conservative books is moving on from its relationship with Two Rivers/Ingram Publisher Services.

Going forward, Regnery will continue to be responsible for sales of its titles in the United States, while Simon & Schuster will handle sales of Regnery titles in Canada and export markets. 

Quarto Group Names New CFO, Group Director of People  

The Quarto Group has appointed Nanette Gibb and Carolyn Bresh to the company’s senior management team, The Bookseller reported.

This month, Gibb joined the global illustrated book publishing company as group director of people, and in April, Bresh will become Quarto’s chief financial officer. Bresh will also join the publisher’s board of directors as an executive director.

Going forward, Gibb and Bresh will report directly to Quarto CEO Marcus Leaver.

HarperCollins Publisher Michael Morrison to Leave Company

Michael Morrison, president and publisher of HarperCollins’ U.S. General Books Group, is leaving the company after 19 years.

In a statement, Morrison, who has decided not to renew his contract once it expires at the end of the month, said, “After 35 years of going to a Manhattan skyscraper every day, I thought it was about time I experienced a different life.”

Morrison was appointed vice president and associate publisher when he joined HarperCollins in 1999 and went on to serve as executive vice president and publisher of Morrow/Avon as well as president and group publisher of the HarperMorrow division.

As a result of Morrison’s departure, Jonathan Burnham, senior vice president for Harper, will be promoted to Harper’s president and publisher. In addition, Liate Stehlik will become president and publisher for William Morrow/Avon. Both Stehlik and Burnham will report to HarperCollins CEO Brian Murray.

National Book Critics Circle Announces 2017 Award Finalists

The National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) has announced its 30 finalists in six categories (autobiography, biography, criticism, fiction, nonfiction, and poetry) for the most outstanding books of 2017.

The NBCC awards are the only prizes given out by a jury of working critics and book review editors. Winners of three other individual NBCC awards were announced in addition to these 30 finalists. The three individual prize winners are:

• Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award: John McPhee
• John Leonard Prize: Her Body and Other Parties (Graywolf) by Carmen Maria Machado
• Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing: Charles Finch

The awards will be presented publicly on March 15 at the New School in New York City; a reading by the finalists will take place the night before the awards.

All 30 finalists can be viewed on the NBCC website.

2018 Edgar Award Nominees Announced

The Edgar Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, nonfiction, and television published or produced in 2017, announced their 2018 nominees last week.

This year’s nominees included, for Best Novel, The Dime by Kathleen Kent (Little, Brown/Mulholland Books), Prussian Blue by Philip Kerr (G.P. Putnam’s Sons), and The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti (The Dial Press).

Nominees for Best First Novel by an American Author included She Rides Shotgun by Jordan Harper (HarperCollins/Ecco) and Lola by Melissa Scrivner Love (Penguin Random House/Crown). The Best Young Adult nominees included Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds (Simon & Schuster/Atheneum Books for Young Readers) and The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (HarperCollins Publishers/Balzer + Bray).

All Edgar winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on April 26 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City.