BTW News Briefs

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Here’s what’s happening this week in the book industry:

Kea Wilson, who formerly worked as a bookseller at St. Louis’ Left Bank Books, wrote an article on “How a Local Bookstore Can Make Your Town Richer — In More Than One Way” for nonprofit Strong Towns, where she now works as the communications manager.

The Authors Guild’s annual survey of authors found that the median income for published American authors in 2017 for all writing-related activity was $6,080. This number is down from $10,500 (42 percent), as measured in the guild’s 2009 survey. The 2018 Author Income Survey was conducted in collaboration with 14 other writer and publishing related organizations, and is based on answers from 5,067 published book authors.

Bloomsbury Digital Resources has signed a partnership to be the exclusive global seller for Rowman & Littlefield Select Collections, curated collections that cover topics in Asian studies, political theory and philosophy, security intelligence, and education leadership and administration.

Publishers Weekly’s parent company, PWxyz, has acquired online literary magazine The Millions as well as its website for an undisclosed price. Founded in 2003, the magazine covers books, the arts, and culture for a consumer audience. 

The National Book Network will distribute three new publishers: Common Deer Press, which publishes middle grade, young adult, and adult titles in a variety of genres; Riverbend Publishing, which specializes in books about national parks and the Northern Rocky Mountains; and Waterford Press, which publishes outdoor reference guides covering all 50 states.

At Random HouseDavid Moench has been named director of publicity at the publisher’s Del Rey imprint; Michelle Jasmine was named associate director of publicity for Random House; and Mary Moates is now publicist for Random House. In the marketing department, Allison Schuster was promoted to senior marketing manager, and Colleen Nuccio is now assistant marketing manager for Ballantine Bantam Dell. Ashleigh Heaton will serve as assistant marketing manager working across the Ballantine Bantam Dell and Del Rey lists.

Stacey Stein and Christine Johnston have both been promoted to associate publicist at Crown. In Crown’s marketing department, Christina Foxley was promoted to director of marketing for Harmony Books and Rodale Books; Stephanie Davis was promoted to assistant director of marketing for Clarkson Potter; and Rachel Aldrich was promoted to assistant marketing manager for Crown and Crown Archetype.

Novelist Sally Rooney has won the U.K.’s Costa Novel Award for her second novel, Normal People (Faber & Faber). The award is the U.K.’s most prestigious literary award for a novel open only to British and Irish authors. With her win, Rooney has become the youngest person to ever receive the Costa Awards’ novel prize. Hogarth will publish Normal People in the U.S. on April 16.

The Academy of American Poets (AAP) has selected Joy Harjo and Natasha Trethewey as the organization’s newest chancellors. This honorary position has been held in the past by important U.S. poets including W.H. Auden, John Ashbery, Elizabeth Bishop, and Adrienne Rich.

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