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

Indie booksellers have a chance to win a $15,000, $30,000, or $50,000 grant from FedEx® as part of the FedEx Small Business Grant Contest [7]. Entries are due by March 2.

Applications for the Milkweed Fellowship [8] are underway; apply through March 16.

The Mellon Foundation has granted $4.5 million [9] to the Academy of American Poets.

Publishers Group West will distribute Restless Books in the U.S., Canada, and international territories beginning May 2020.

Phaidon Press has acquired The Monacelli Press [10].

Skyhorse is launching imprint Palomino Press.

Rutgers University Press and Raritan: A Quarterly Review are partnering to establish a new Raritan book imprint that will produce one book a year under two separate series: a short 40,000-word original book and thematic anthologies featuring work from the Raritan archive.

Bestselling author Mary Higgins Clark died at age 92 on January 31.

Alice Mayhew, vice president and editorial director of Simon & Schuster, died on February 4.

Writer and musician Patti Smith has been named the winner of the 2020 PEN America Literary Service Award [11].

Finalists in 24 categories for the 2020 Audie Awards, including the Audiobook of the Year, were announced by the Audio Publishers Association [12] on February 3.

The Romantic Novelists’ Association [13] has announced the shortlists for the 2020 Romantic Novel Awards.

Share your news in BTW News Briefs! Publishers and industry partners are welcome to e-mail [email protected] [14] with news about awards, imprint launches, distribution changes, staff promotions, and more.