Friday, March 02, 2018

Publishers Lunch


Today's Meal


Following a growing tide of second-hand allegations on Twitter of harassment, with an accompanying tide of media investigating and making inquiries, author Sherman Alexie issued a statement on Wednesday in which he apologized broadly to "the people I have hurt," admitting vaguely to making "poor decisions."

In the same statement, he directly and specifically "reject[s] the accusations, insinuations and outright falsehoods made by Litsa Dremousis, who has led the charges against me" on Twitter. Alexie says that he and Dremousis "had previously been consenting sexual partners," ending that relationship in 2015. In late 2017, Alexie writes that Dremousis emailed his wife about their former relationship and "since then, has continually tweeted and spoken in public about my behavior, making accusations based on rumors and hearsay...."

Alexie writes in general: "There are women telling the truth about my behavior and I have no recollection of physically or verbally threatening anybody or their careers. That would be completely out of character. I have made poor decisions and I am working hard to become a healthier man who makes healthier decisions. Again, I apologize to the people I have hurt. I am genuine sorry."

Dremousis
tells the Seattle Times "she had been open with reporters about the affair," though she did not include that in her Twitter threads, and "she had earlier told The Seattle Times it was off the record." She says she has been working with NPR to interview women on record about Alexie -- "We've recorded five or six already" -- but no piece has aired yet. "Once the NPR story is out, it nullifies everything," she tells the newspaper.

In her own
statement on Facebook, Dremousis writes, "I knew he'd use a consensual affair which ended w/ us staying good friends as a way to discredit dozens of women *who consented to nothing*." She also notes, "I put a huge chunk of my private life out there of my own volition b/c I wanted him to stop harming women." Dremousis closes her post: "A man I confronted four months ago about his sexual harassment of women finally issued a statement wherein he doesn't deny it. That's all I'll say I'll for now."

Alexie's most recent book, the memoir You Don't Have To Say You Love Me, was published by Little, Brown in 2017.

Little, Brown has not commented on the record, but a person at the company familiar with their plans confirmed that the trade paperback edition of Alexie's 2017 memoir You Don't Have to Say You Love Me will release as planned on April 24.


Jennifer Egan will succeed Andrew Solomon as president of PEN America. She will be the first to oversee the newly unified PEN America and PEN Center USA, which announced the completion of its consolidation into a single entity.

Rachel Rosenfelt will join the New Republic as publisher and vice-president on March 12. She is the founder of online magazine The New Inquiry and has been creative director for Verso Books.

CEO of BookPeople in Austin, TX Steve Bercu will retire from full-time bookselling in June. Elizabeth Jordan, who has worked at the store since 2002, has been promoted to general manager, and Consuelo Wilder has been named the adult book buyer and inventory operations supervisor.

Managing director of Bloomsbury Consumer publishing Emma Hopkin is taking over day-to-day running of adult trade publishing from group editor-in-chief Alexandra Pringle. Pringle retains her title and will continue to acquire and publish her own list.

Hopkin said in the announcement: "With the advent of a new financial year, Alexandra decided the time felt right to hand on the management of the list and staff and concentrate all her energies on the brilliant authors she has brought and continues to bring to Bloomsbury; and to publish them with her prowess and expertise. I am delighted she remains core to our publishing; and I’m looking forward to working more closely with the entire team."

Kevin Lewis has joined Erin Murphy Literary Agency as agent, focusing on writer-illustrators and on diverse voices. Previously he was an editor at Scholastic, Simon & Schuster, and Disney.

Meredith Vilarello has been promoted to associate publisher at Touchstone, reporting to Susan Moldow.

Michael Signorelli has left his position as senior editor at Holt.

At Little, Brown, Sabrina Benun has been promoted to associate marketing director, James Patterson/Jimmy; Sasha Henriques to assistant editor, James Patterson/Jimmy; Lauren Harms to art director, Little, Brown; Tracy Shaw to senior art director, Jimmy;
Nicky Guerreiro to assistant editor, Little, Brown; and Lauren Passell to director of social media, Little, Brown.

At Simon & Schuster Children's Jasmine Ye has been promoted to associate production editor.

Holly Ingraham is leaving St. Martin's after 10 years and will launch Holly Ingraham Editorial, offering developmental editing, proofreading, and publishing consultation, specializing in romance, women's fiction, mystery and YA.

Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn tells Chicago Magazine in an interview:"I'm about halfway through a solid first draft of my next novel. It's very sinister and dark, and there are definitely some funny pieces to it. Brett, my husband, has read the first page, which is a f----ng spectacular first page. It's the greatest first page that's ever been written."

Picks

The March Pennie's Pick at Costco is Kathy Hepinstall's The Book of Polly.

Target announced its Book Club picks for the next three months are Melissa Albert's
The Hazel Wood (March), Kathleen Glasgow's Girl In Pieces (April), and Janelle Brown's Watch Me Disappear (May).

Awards
The €150,000 Erasmus Prize will be
given to Barbara Ehrenreich, with this year's prize theme The Power of Investigative Journalism. They write: "Barbara Ehrenreich is commended for her courage in putting herself on the line in her journalistic work. By leading the life of people in precarious situations, she gives a voice to groups in society that would otherwise remain unheard, and she lets us see life as people on the underside of society live it."

Elizabeth Strout won the Story Prize for
Anything Is Possible (Random House).

No comments: