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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Debut author gets 7-figure book deal

A debut author who graduated from the celebrated Iowa Writers' Workshop has a seven-figure book deal.HarperCollins announced Wednesday that it will publish Erika Johansen's Queen of the Tearling, a fantasy trilogy inspired in part by Barack Obama.A person with knowledge of the negotiations said... Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2013-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Six picked for oddest book title shortlist

A shortlist of six titles has been chosen for the Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title of the Year... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Emue Books Brings Francophone Literature (and Fairness) Down Under

Emue Books is a new Australian publisher with an unexpected mission: publishing Francophone literature and reviving "fairness" in publishing. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Announcing the 2012 L.A. Times Book Prize finalists

The finalists for the 33rd L.A. Times Book Prizes were announced Thursday morning. Two authors -- Margaret Atwood and Kevin Starr -- will also receive special recognition. This post has been updated; see below for details. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-02-21 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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Germany backs out of World Book Night 2013

After only one year Germany's participation in international World Book Night celebrations... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-02-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sale of Used E-books Getting Closer

At a time when many independent booksellers both here and abroad are beginning to gain traction selling Kobo ebooks, other retailers are eyeing the secondary market for ebooks and other digital content. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-02-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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World Book Day forges new partnerships

World Book Day has signed new partners for 2013, including online social world MiniMonos.com and... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Books in Translation: It’s Time for Others to Join the Fight

The publishers of UK's Stork Books argue that major publishers and the media in the UK and USA underestimate the audience for translated books and are making a big mistake. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Shortlists revealed for Waterstones Children's Book Prize

Random House Children's Books, Egmont and Little Tiger Press have each picked up two... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fiercest Book Critic of 2012? Camilla Long Had The Year’s Sharpest Hatchet

The Guardian called it: "Camilla Long’s comprehensive shredding of Rachel Cusk’s memoir of her divorce, Aftermath has won her the Hatchet Job of the Year award.” Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Quarter of adults 'have barely read a book in past six months'

A quarter of UK adults—more than 12 million people—have only picked up a book to read... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Beavis writer up for book prize

The writer of US comedy Beavis and Butt-head is among 18 authors shortlisted for this year's Waterstones children's book prize. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2013-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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French Bring New Book Festival to Brazzaville, Congo

Following strife in Bamako, Mali, France's Etonnants Voyageurs has launched a new book and film festival in Brazzaville, Congo—one for all of Africa. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook Eying Movies, Books, TV as Next Dominant Social Content

Outside of photos and status updates, Facebook's original shareable content was game activity. So-and-so just planted a new crop, etc. Next Facebook rolled out the Like button, and news articles became popular. Then Facebook debuted its Open Graph in fall 2011 so that someone could listen to a... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2013-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Frank Lampard signs kids' book deal

England footballer Frank Lampard is to write a series of children's books, says publisher Little, Brown. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2013-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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U.S. Settles With Macmillan in E-Books Case

The Justice Department had sued Macmillan and other large book publishers, accusing them of conspiring to raise ebook prices. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2013-02-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Incoming News Corp. CEO Says The Daily Was 'A Great Success, Revenue Aside'

It burned through at least $40 million and never came close to turning a profit, but that doesn’t mean The Daily was a failure, according to Robert Thomson, the soon-to-be CEO of News Corp.’s publishing spin-off. “It wa ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-02-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As E-books Grow, So Does Amazon

With ebooks’ share of unit sales rising from 14% for the first nine months of 2011 to 22% for the same period in 2012, the biggest winners among retailers were Amazon and dedicated ebookstores and digital download sites. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-02-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Hindu Literary Prize: Five Books Shortlisted

One collection of short stories and four novels—including Jeet Thayyil’s Narcopolis, winner of the DSC Prize—have been shortlisted for The Hindu Literary Prize. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-02-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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