Hachette Books taps editor as CEO

One of the country's top publishers has turned to a man from the editorial side to run its business. Michael Pietsch, the editor of Keith Richards' Life, David Foster Wallace's The Pale King and the many novels of James Patterson, has been named CEO of Hachette Book Group. Mr. Pietsch has headed the publisher's Little Brown and Co. division for 11 years. "I love working closely with writers, and I'm hopeful that I'll get to continue to work with them in other ways in helping them achieve whatever they want to achieve," Mr. Pietsch said Monday during a brief telephone interview. "I have always loved the business side of our business. I didn't think of myself as wanting to be a CEO, but I always wanted to learn more about the business and about bringing the right book into a reader's hands at the right moment." Mr. Pietsch succeeds David Young, who will step down March 31. The 61 year old is returning to Britain to be with his family and will become deputy chief executive of Hachette UK and CEO of the Orion Publishing Group division. Mr. Pietsch will continue to report to Mr. Young, whose reign was highlighted by the rise of Stephenie Meyer and her Twilight novels. "I have enjoyed enormously my time here and the company going from strength to strength, and I leave behind a brilliant team who work together so wonderfully, and will now be very ably led by Michael Pietsch," said Mr. Young, who has been CEO since 2006, in a statement. The 55-year-old Mr. Pietsch is known for... Continue reading at 'Crains New York'

[ Crains New York | 2012-09-11 00:00:00 UTC ]

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BBC changes ending of Casual Vacancy

The BBC has changed the “bleak” ending of J K Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy for its TV adaptation, due to be screened this month. Screenwriter Sarah Phelps told the Telegraph that she had had to come up with a redemptive ending for the story, set in the fictional village of Pagford. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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TV books programmes: if nobody watches them, make better ones

The novelist Robert Harris was right to call the BBC’s lack of a books show a ‘disgrace’. There’s plenty the corporation could do to make a popular literary programme on TVWith injury, there is always a little insult. When a BBC spokesperson, responding to Robert Harris’s complaints at the Costa... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Why We Still Need to Investigate the Rolling Stone Rape Story

This week, Rolling Stone editor Jann Wenner asked the Columbia Journalism School to review Sabrina Rubin Erdely’s story about a gang rape at the University of Virginia. As it became clear that the story’s central incident—a gang rape of a freshman at a fraternity—did not happen as Rolling Stone... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2014-12-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'The Casual Vacancy' TV cast will include Michael Gambon, Rory Kinnear

Gambon starred as wizard Dumbledore in the movie series based on 'Vacancy' author J.K. Rowling's 'Harry Potter' novels. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-06-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BEA 2014: Feiffer’s Noir Classic Tribute

“Now in my 80s, in my second or third childhood, I’ve come back to the noir influence,” says Jules Feiffer, Pulitzer Prize–winning cartoonist, author, and award-winning screenwriter and playwright, about Kill My Mother, an original graphic novel (Norton/Liveright, Aug.). Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

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Philadelphia Inquirer Sued Over Top Editor Marimow’s Ouster

Two members of Philadelphia Inquirer owner Interstate General Media LLC sued the company and the newspaper’s publisher over the ouster of editor-in-chief Bill Marimow. Marimow, a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize, was fired Oct. 7 w ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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J.K. Rowling penning magic movie for Warner Bros.

J.K. Rowling's world of wizardry is coming back to the big screen—but without Harry Potter.Studio Warner Bros. announced Thursday that Ms. Rowling will write the screenplay for a movie based on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, her textbook about the magical universe she created in the... Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2013-09-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Should We Teach Literature Students How To Analyze Texts Algorithmically?

When the U.K. newspaper the Sunday Times outed J.K. Rowling as the author of detective novel The Cuckoo's Calling earlier this year, computer scientists were among the first people called in. Although the novel was published under the pen name Robert Galbraith, two computational... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-09-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Third week at the top for Casual Vacancy

J K Rowling's The Casual Vacancy (Sphere) remains the bestselling book in the UK, topping the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Changing Seasons

“Always be closing,” the oft-quoted line from David Mamet’s Pulitzer Prize–winning play Glengarry Glen Ross, could serve as the mantra at today’s big houses. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-07-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pulitzer Prize: huge sales neither required nor guaranteed

After winning the highest honor in the literary world, the 2013 Pulitzer Prize winners have seen sales increases – but so far the numbers are pretty tiny. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-05-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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North Korea book wins Pulitzer Prize

The Pulitzer Prize for fiction has been won by author Adam Johnson for his novel based in North Korea, The Orphan Master's Son. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2013-04-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Cover for Casual Vacancy paperback revealed

Little, Brown will be releasing J K Rowling's The Casual Vacancy in paperback format... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Huffington Post Loses Executive Editor Tim O'Brien

Arianna's right hand is out at The Huffington Post. Huffington announced today via company memo that Tim O'Brien, executive editor of the online publisher, will be leaving the site to work on the second of his five-part book deal. Per the memo, Huffington noted, "In the next few days, Tim's... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2013-02-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Casual Vacancy heads to TV screens

J K Rowling's The Casual Vacancy (Little, Brown) is to be adapted into a television series... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-12-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hachette reports "stand-out month" in September

The publication of J K Rowling's The Casual Vacancy and ebook sales growth helped Hachette... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon to refund ebook customers

Amazon contacts some US customers to detail partial refunds for ebooks as part of a settlement regarding price fixing. Continue reading at BBC World

[ BBC World | 2012-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Rowling, James, Follett Tops Overseas: International Bestsellers, October 2012

J.K. Rowling, E.L. James, and Ken Follett all had books on multiple lists around the world as Septembercame to a close. The Casual Vacancy, J.K. Rowling’s first book for adults, landed at #1 in France and the U.K. when it was released late last month. Two spots behind Vacancy in France is... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-10-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Casual Vacancy keeps pole position

J K Rowling's The Casual Vacancy (Little, Brown) has retained pole position in the bestseller... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-10-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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‘Casual Vacancy’ and the State of Big (Print) Debuts

After months of hype, the first adult novel from J.K. Rowling debuted with the third biggest print opening of 2012. At outlets tracked by Nielsen BookScan, The Casual Vacancy sold 156,679 copies in its first week—enough to place it behind only No Easy Day by Mark Owen (254,046 copies) and Fifty... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-10-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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