BTW News Briefs

Richard Flanagan Wins Man Booker Prize for Fiction

Richard Flanagan has won the 2014 Man Booker Prize for Fiction his title The Narrow Road to the Deep North, published by Chatto & Windus, the organization announced on October 14. This is the first year that the prize has been extended to authors writing originally in English and publishing in the U.K., regardless of nationality, and Flanagan is the third Australian to win the prize.

AC Grayling, chair of judges, announced Flanagan’s win at an awards dinner, where Flanagan received a trophy from HRH The Duchess of Cornwall and a £50,000 check from Emmanuel Roman, chief executive of Man Group, the investment firm that has sponsored the prize since 2002. Flanagan will also receive a designer-bound edition of The Narrow Road to the Deep North and £2,500 for making it to the shortlist.

“The two great themes from the origin of literature are love and war: this is a magnificent novel of love and war. Written in prose of extraordinary elegance and force, it bridges East and West, past and present, with a story of guilt and heroism,” said Grayling.

On October 16, Shelf Awareness noted that following the announcement of Flanagan’s win, Knopf, the publisher of the book in the U.S., has gone back to print for another 53,000 copies.

First Amendment Groups Challenge Idaho School’s Parental Consent Form

Several First Amendment groups have penned a letter to the Teton School District 401 in Driggs, Idaho, cautioning against adopting a new parental consent form that asks parents to sign off on their children’s reading assignments and promising alternatives if parents object to a title. The form was drafted as a response to controversies arising over a challenge against Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya in 10th grade classrooms in December.

The letter, sent on October 10, argued that the form “misconstrues both the legal rights of parents and the duties of public school officials” and offers unlimited grounds for complaints by parents. The proposal for alternative assignments also requires the impractical option for an individualized curriculum for every student, the letter noted.

The letter was signed by the National Coalition Against Censorship, the American Booksellers Foundation For Free Expression, the Association of American Publishers, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, the National Council of Teachers of English, and the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators.

Eric Schwartz Joins Columbia University Press as Editorial Director

Columbia University Press welcomed Eric Schwartz as its new editorial director on September 29. He replaces Jennifer Crewe, who was named president and director of the press in June. Schwartz will bring a sociology list to the press and will grow its existing neuroscience list.

Formerly the senior editor for sociology and cognitive science at Princeton University Press, Schwartz has also worked as an editor at Cambridge University Press and in manufacturing at Oxford University Press and Springer. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from the New School for Social Research and a BA in international relations from the University of Delaware.

“I am thrilled by the opportunity to work for New York City’s premier university press,” said Schwartz. “It has an engaged and enthusiastic staff, starting with its new President and Director. I’m looking forward to collaborating with Columbia University’s wider academic community on publishing great books. Let’s get started!”