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Dana Canedy Named Administrator of Pulitzer Prizes

Dana Canedy has been named the new administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes, the first woman and the first person of color to hold the position, the New York Times reported.

Canedy, a former senior editor at the New York Times, won the 2001 Pulitzer for her work as the lead reporter on the “How Race Is Lived in America” series. She succeeds Mike Pride, editor emeritus of the Concord Monitor, who will retire on July 31 after three years at the helm.

The Pulitzer Prize administrator’s office works with the prize’s board, which chooses the winners each April, on selection of juries, prize deliberations, committee work, and arranging board meetings.

Canadian Retailer Indigo Books & Music May Add Stores in U.S.

Indigo Books & Music, a Canadian retailer, is in discussions to expand to the United States in early 2018, according to several high-level publishing executives in Canada and the U.S., Publishers Weekly reported.

According to PW’s sources, representatives for Indigo were taking meetings about the possible expansion during this year’s BookExpo. The first U.S. store may be planned for New Jersey, with Montclair as a potential location, executives speculated. One executive told Publishers Weekly that CEO Heather Reisman has close relationships in New Jersey and knows the area well.

As of May 31, 2016, Indigo operated 89 superstores in Canada, under the Indigo and Chapters brand names, as well as 123 small format stores, under the names Coles, Indigo, Indigospirit, SmithBooks, and The Book Company.

Indigo’s revenue has been rising, with some recent success attributed to this year’s launch of a new bookstore concept, which started with a 30,000-square-foot store spread over two floors in Toronto’s Sherway shopping mall.

Status of Affordable Care Act Repeal Vote Uncertain

On Tuesday, three Republican senators derailed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) plan to roll back significant parts of the Affordable Care Act without a replacement plan in place, CNN reported.

After conceding on Monday that the effort to repeal and immediately provide replacement legislation for Obamacare “would be unsuccessful,” McConnell proposed a vote on a measure that would repeal the Affordable Care Act. The legislation would have given lawmakers two years to work on a replacement.

Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, and Susan Collins of Maine said they oppose McConnell’s proposal, CNN reported. “My position on this issue is driven by its impact on West Virginians,” Capito said in a statement. “With that in mind, I cannot vote to repeal Obamacare without a replacement plan that addresses my concerns and the needs of West Virginians.”

However, McConnell insisted Wednesday that the Senate will take a procedural vote next week on whether to move forward with the vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act, The Hill reported.

Jamie Raab and Deb Futter to Start Celadon Books

This fall, publishing professionals Jamie Raab and Deb Futter will launch Celadon Books, a new division of Macmillan Publishers, the company has announced.

Beginning September 12, Raab will serve as Celadon’s president and publisher and Futter will be its senior vice president and co-publisher. Celadon Books will publish 20 to 25 new fiction and nonfiction titles a year.

Most recently, Jamie Raab was president and publisher of Grand Central Publishing, an imprint of Hachette, while Futter was most recently vice president and editor-in-chief of Grand Central Publishing and the publisher of Twelve, an imprint of Grand Central.

S&S Books for Young Readers Restructures Marketing and Publicity Divisions

As part of an “expansion and reorganization” of Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers’ marketing, publicity, and digital marketing teams, Chrissy Noh has been promoted to senior director of marketing for S&S Books for Young Readers, Atheneum, Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, Margaret K McElderry, Salaam Reads, Beach Lane Books, Paula Wiseman Books, and Saga Press, Publishers Lunch reported, and Jill Hacking is now retail marketing coordinator.

Senior Director of Publicity Nicole Russo will head the publicity team for Pulse, Aladdin, Little Simon, Simon Spotlight, and Paula Wiseman Books and oversee publicity for Cassandra Clare, while Lisa Moraleda will serve as director of publicity for S&S Books for Young Readers, Atheneum, Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, Margaret K McElderry, Salaam Reads, Beach Lane Books, and Saga Press. Anna Jarzab joins the company from Penguin Children’s as digital marketing strategist, heading up the new expanded digital team.

In addition, Associate Marketing Manager Catherine Hayden will now focus on the Aladdin and Pulse imprints; Matt Pantoliano, Katy Hershberger, and Faye Bi have left the company.

Harvard University Press Names New Director

George Andreou, vice president and senior editor at Alfred A. Knopf, has been named the new director of Harvard University Press, the Harvard Gazette reported. Andreou takes over from William Sisler, who announced his retirement in January after leading the publisher for 27 years.

Andreou graduated from Harvard College in 1987 with a degree in English and American literature and language and began his career in publishing as an editorial assistant at Knopf. In 1994, Andreou co-founded Vintage Español; he was appointed to his current position at Knopf in 2005.

Jamia Wilson Named Executive Editor, Publisher at The Feminist Press

Jamia Wilson has joined The Feminist Press at CUNY as its new executive director and publisher. She is the press’ youngest director ever and the first woman of color to lead the publishing company, which was founded in 1970.

Previously, Wilson served as the executive director of Women, Action & the Media, a nonprofit organization promoting gender justice in media. She has also served as TED Prize Storyteller and vice president of programs at Women’s Media Center. In 2016, Wilson was honored as a Black Feminist Human Rights Defender by Black Women’s Blueprint; in 2013, Refinery29 named her one of “17 Faces of the Future of Feminism.”

Wilson, who began her tenure on July 18, succeeds Jennifer Baumgardner, who ended her four-year tenure as executive editor and publisher in May.

Hugh M. Hefner Foundation Announces 2017 First Amendment Award Winners

The Hugh M. Hefner Foundation has announced the winners of the annual Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Awards. The Awards, established in 1979 in conjunction with Playboy Magazine’s 25th anniversary, honor individuals who have made significant contributions to protect and enhance First Amendment rights for all Americans.

This year’s Lifetime Achievement Award will go to Burt Neuborne, the Norman Dorsen Professor of Civil Liberties at NYU Law School. Neuborne has been one of the nation’s foremost civil liberties lawyers for the past 45 years and is the founding legal director for The Brennan Center for Justice. His career also includes serving as national legal director of the ACLU, special counsel to the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund, and as a member of the New York City Human Rights Commission.

A reception with the winners and judges will be held on August 7 at the Playboy Mansion.

2017 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize Longlist Announced

The Center for Fiction has announced the longlist for its 2017 First Novel Prize, which is awarded to the best debut novel published between January 1 and December 31 of the award year.

The winner, who will receive $10,000, will be announced at the Center’s Annual Benefit and Awards Dinner on December 5 at The Metropolitan Club in New York City. The ceremony will also honor this year’s Maxwell E. Perkins Award winner, Morgan Entrekin, CEO and publisher of Grove Atlantic.

International Thriller Writers’ Annual Award Winners Announced

The International Thriller Writers (ITW) has announced the organization’s annual award winners. Submissions for this year’s awards were open to novels first published in the English language by an ITW Recognized Publisher or from an ITW Active Member between January 1 and August 31, 2016.

This year’s winners, announced at ThrillerFest XII on July 15 at the Grand Hyatt in New York City, are as follows:

  • Hardcover: Before the Fall by Noah Hawley (Grand Central Publishing)
  • First Novel: The Drifter by Nicholas Petrie (G.P. Putnam’s Sons)
  • Paperback Original: The Body Reader by Anne Frasier (Thomas & Mercer)
  • E-book Original: Romeo’s Way by James Scott Bell (Compendium Press)

Little Free Library Wins WNBA’s Second Century Prize

The Women’s National Book Association (WNBA) has awarded its Second Century Prize to the Little Free Library, a nonprofit organization that builds free book exchanges to promote reading for all ages, especially children.

The $5,000 Second Century Prize, one of the signature programs of the association’s Centennial celebration, was founded to recognize an organization that works to support the power of reading.

Nominations came from WNBA chapters throughout the country. According to the association, the WNBA’s prize committee chose Little Free Library (LFL) based on its superior grassroots organization.

Little Free Library, which is based in Hudson, Wisconsin, has over 50,000 libraries in more than 70 countries, with millions of books exchanged annually. In its commendation, WNBA noted LFL’s new Kids, Community, and Cops program, which helps police departments set up book exchanges in their precincts, and its Action Book Club, which encourages social engagement through shared reading.