BTW News Briefs

Morin Becomes President and COO at Ingram Content Group

Shawn Morin, Ingram Content Group’s chief operating officer since 2012, has also been named the company’s president.

Ingram CEO John R. Ingram said on Tuesday that Morin has provided great leadership for the Ingram team, especially over the past two years. “As much as we’re a distribution business, we’re also a technology business. Shawn is a businessman who is very knowledgeable and fluent in technology, which enables everything we do,” Ingram said.

As chief operating officer, Morin has been in charge of managing Ingram’s commercial activities, systems, and operations.

Morin joined the company in 2009 as chief information officer after leaving his position as chief information officer and vice president of information technology for Bass Pro Shops, based in Springfield, Missouri.

Before entering the business world, Morin, who lives in Franklin, Tennessee, with his wife, Nancy, was the lead engineer working on the on-board flight software for the Space Shuttle program at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

PEN American Center Survey Finds Rise in Writers’ Fears of Government Surveillance

A recent survey by PEN American Center reveals that levels of self-censorship for fear of government surveillance has risen among writers living in democracies like the U.S., and is approaching that of writers living in authoritarian or semi-democratic states.

The survey report “Global Chilling: The Impact of Mass Surveillance on International Writers,” compiled by the nonpartisan research firm FDR Group, comes at a time of debate in the U.S. over the erosion of privacy, centering around the National Security Agency’s controversial data collection programs and the recent cyber attack on Sony over its plans to release The Interview, Seth Rogen’s film spoofing North Korea.

A significant majority of the 800 writers who responded to the 2014 anonymous online survey reported that fears of government surveillance have led them to avoid or to consider avoiding controversial topics in their work, personal communications, or social media postings.

The survey found that 75 percent of respondents in countries classified as “free,” 84 percent in “partly free” countries, and 80 percent in countries that were “not free” said that they were “very” or “somewhat” worried about government surveillance in their countries.

Como Sales Rep Retires

Longtime Como Sales company rep Adele Herman, who covered the country’s Mid-Atlantic region, is retiring after 40 years with the company. “Delly,” as she is known, broke into the male-dominated commission sales business in the early ’70s.

 “Adele’s sharp wit, energy and boundless enthusiasm together with her determination to succeed led to her career break-through as one of the first female publisher sales reps in the industry to have her own travel territory and bag,” wrote head of Como Sales Maureen Karb in a December 31 letter to colleagues. “True success is always difficult to measure but the health and vitality of her business relationships, for over 40 years, is a pretty good yardstick.”

In 2006, adding to many other honors she received over the years, Herman and her late husband, Sam Herman, were awarded the William Helmuth Sales Rep of the Year honors by the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association.

Binc Foundation Elects President, New Board Member

The Book Industry Charitable Foundation (Binc) has elected Lori Tucker-Sullivan, the executive director of the Independent Booksellers Consortium (IBC), as president of its Board of Directors. Also elected to serve on the board was former American Booksellers Association board member Ken White of San Francisco’s Books Inc.

The Ann Arbor-based nonprofit, which announced the changes to its board on Tuesday, was established by booksellers in 1996 as a means to coordinate charitable programs in support of financially compromised employees and their families.

Tucker-Sullivan, who has served as IBC executive director since 1998, joined the Binc board in August 2012 with more than 20 years of experience in the book industry as well as broad experience in the nonprofit world.

White, who served on ABA’s Board of Directors for six years, brings more than 20 years of book industry experience to the position. In addition to his many years of independent bookselling and his time on the ABA Board, White served five years as a board director for the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association.

IDW Publishing Acquires Top Shelf Productions

Comic book and graphic novel publisher IDW Publishing has acquired Top Shelf Productions, the award-winning independent publisher of graphic novels, including March by Congressman John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell; Alan Moore’s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (with Kevin O’Neill), and From Hell (with Eddie Campbell).

 “The acquisition of Top Shelf is a milestone for IDW,” said IDW CEO and publisher Ted Adams. “We looked a very long time for a company that would complement our own publishing line-up, and in Top Shelf we found the ideal match. The addition of Top Shelf’s library further positions IDW’s leadership role among the top powerhouses in comics.”

Top Shelf will remain a distinct imprint within IDW, and co-founder Chris Staros will join the company as editor-in-chief of Top Shelf Productions. Its headquarters will remain in Marietta, Georgia.