BTW News Briefs

HarperCollins Launches Speakers Bureau

On May 3, the Wall Street Journal reported that HarperCollins Publishers is launching a "speakers bureau in the U.S. intended to secure paid speaking opportunities for its authors." The article noted that it is expected that the service will be offered to HarperCollins writers around the globe. HarperCollins President and Chief Executive Jane Friedman told WSJ, "We expect this to create a substantial revenue stream for our writers and to make money for ourselves. It will also enable us to have ongoing relationships with our authors."

Already, HarperCollins has received two offers of more than $100,000 each for two writers, WSJ noted, and it is expected that revenue for the first year of the service will be in the range of $2 million to $3 million. Gary Reznik was hired to lead the new service, the article stated.

Federal Reserve to Focus on Credit Card Fees

On May 4, the Federal Reserve began holding a conference on credit and debit card interchange rates, news that was lauded by the National Retail Federation (NRF). Interchange is a percentage of each transaction -- sometimes accompanied by a flat fee --that banks collect from retailers every time a credit or debit card is used to pay for a purchase, adding up to billions of dollars each year.

"This conference is going to play a major role in making consumers aware of the ways banks and credit card companies are artificially driving up the cost of consumer goods in America," said NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin. "Credit and debit card interchange fees can account for nearly $2 out of every $100 consumers spend. Card company rules force retailers to hide these fees in the price of merchandise and effectively prohibit us from giving a discount for cash or checks in all but a handful of situations. The result is that consumers end up paying extra whether they use their cards or not. That just isn't fair, so it's good to see the Federal Reserve raise this issue to national prominence."

Mullin continued, "Increasing interchange rates are particularly troublesome at a time when the growth of consumer spending and retail sales is slowing. Consumer spending has been the backbone of the U.S. economy in recent years, but these fees are reducing consumers' spending power. Consumers are already burdened enough by gasoline prices and other rising costs. They don't need to have more money taken out of their pockets just so banks can have higher profits."

James Beard/Kitchenaid Cookbook Awards Announced

On Monday, May 2, winners of the 2005 James Beard Foundation/Kitchenaid Book Awards were announced at the 15th Annual James Beard Foundation Awards Ceremony and Reception at the Marriott Marquis in New York City. Taking home the Kitchenaid Cookbook of the Year Award was Rick Stein's Complete Seafood by Rick Stein (Ten Speed Press). A full list of winners can be found on The James Beard Foundation website.

MWA's Edgar Winners Announced

On April 28, the winners of the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, nonfiction, television, and film published or produced in 2004, were announced at a banquet held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, New York City. Winning for best novel was California Girl by T. Jefferson Parker (Morrow). Don Lee's Country of Origin (Norton) took home the prize for Best First Novel. Marcia Muller was named Grand Master for 2005, MWA's highest award, which is given to a writer of national stature with a body of distinguished work.

More information on the Edgar Awards can be found on the Mystery Writers of America website.

The 2005 Harold Morton Landon Translation Award

On May 3, the Academy of American Poets announced that Daryl Hine is the winner of the Academy's 2005 Harold Morton Landon Translation Award for his translation of Works of Hesiod and the Homeric Hymns, published by the University of Chicago Press. The Harold Morton Landon Translation Award was established at the Academy of American Poets in 1976 as a biennial prize given to an American for a published translation of poetry from any language into English.