BTW News Briefs

All the Light We Cannot See Wins Pulitzer Prize

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (Scribner), the #1 Indie Next List Pick for May 2014 and the winner of the 2015 Indies Choice Book Award for fiction, has been named the winner of the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Columbia University formally announced the full list of winners for the 99th annual Pulitzer Prizes on Monday.

Doerr’s lyrical novel tells the story of a boy and a girl from very different worlds whose stories intertwine against the backdrop of World War II.

Other Pulitzer winners in the categories of journalism, letters, drama, and music included: for General Nonfiction, The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert (Henry Holt); for History, Encounters at the Heart of the World: A History of the Mandan People by Elizabeth A. Fenn (Hill and Wang); for Biography or Autobiography, The Pope and Mussolini: The Secret History of Pius XI and the Rise of Fascism in Europe by David I. Kertzer (Random House); and for Poetry, Digest by Gregory Pardlo (Four Way Books).

NRF Contest Celebrates Small Retailers’ Contributions to Advocacy

As part of its 2015 Retail Advocates Summit, to be held in Washington, D.C., from July 28 to 29, the National Retail Federation will host America’s Retail Champions, an awards program and reception honoring Main Street retailers. NRF is accepting nominations of U.S. retailers for the America’s Retail Champion Awards until May 15.

Up to 50 small retailers will win a complimentary trip to Washington and a unique opportunity to share their retail story face-to-face with members of Congress. Last year, the program brought more than 40 retailers to Washington.

In addition to coach-class airfare to travel to and from the 2015 Retail Advocates Summit event, champions will receive complimentary hotel accommodations for one night and an amount to cover all reasonable incidental expenses during their stay. Five nominees will be chosen as finalists and one will be recognized as America’s Retail Champion of the Year. To learn more, click here.

BEA to Host Publishing Technology Startup Competition for Second Year

Twenty publishing technology startups will get the chance to make their pitches to venture capitalists, technology firms, and publishing organizations at this year’s BookExpo America (BEA).

“Startup Alley” opens at BEA on Wednesday, May 27, as part of the BookExpo Startup Challenge. Up to 20 companies that have registered to set up booths in the Alley will be selected to present before judges from the investment community in hopes of being chosen as BEA’s 2015 Most Promising Publishing Startup. Startups can register using this entry form found at the BookExpo Startup Challenge website.

Last year, the publishing technology startup Librify, a book-of-the-month club for e-books set to launch this year, came together with BEA organizers to hold the first BookExpo Startup Challenge.

All selected startups will get a free exhibition booth in Startup Alley, free passes to the event, as well as the chance to interact with executives from major publishing houses and access to coaching and strategic advice from investment industry professionals. This year the Challenge, which is sponsored by Sourcebooks and Ingram Content Group, will also feature a People’s Choice Award, to be selected by the attendees and exhibitors at BEA.

Registered attendees and exhibitors at BEA are invited to attend the final BookExpo Startup Challenge event at 3:30 p.m. on May 29 on the Downtown Stage.

De Gruyter to Distribute Columbia University Press E-books

Berlin-based academic publisher De Gruyter has entered a global distribution deal with Columbia University Press (CUP) to distribute its e-book content, the companies announced Thursday.

The German company will electronically distribute a selection of current CUP publications and a backlist of more than 1,000 e-books. In addition, all Columbia University Press e-books will be offered at De Gruyter Online.

The distribution deal serves to expand CUP’s international reach while filling out De Gruyter’s catalog with a range of academic publications in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences.

CUP and De Gruyter will also make more than 3,000 out-of-print titles available as e-books and hardcover reprints as part of a joint digitalization project.