Collected Consciousness

Poets are the nomads of literary publishing. Poetry books are rarely money-makers for their publishers; they get published because of a particular house or editor's personal commitment to poetry, to shore up the literary end of a list, or because a nonprofit, indie or university press is passionately invoved in poetry.

The Poets' Poet

How is it that an accomplished poet and scholar, beloved by generations of students, whose work has enjoyed the praise of no less than Harold Bloom, remains, at 76, something of a poet's poet, a secret hero to a few rather than an enthusiasm widely shared? Allen Grossman's reputation, such as it is, may be owing in part to his difficult-to-classify poems.

Mayer to Get London Award

Former Penguin head Peter Mayer will receive a lifetime achievement award for his efforts in promoting international publishing at this year's London Book Fair. Since leaving Penguin in 1996, Mayer has run the U.S.-based Overlook Press and the U.K-based Duckworth Publishers.

Thomas Friedman Named as BEA's Keynote Speaker

Thomas Friedman will be the keynote speaker at this year’s BookExpo America in Los Angeles. The three-time Pulitzer Prize winner will appear at the convention on Friday, May 30 at 11a.m.

BookExpo Brings Booksellers to China

BookExp America (owned by PW parent Reed Exhibitions) is hosting a panel discussion featuring a number of American booksellers and librarians at the upcoming Beijing Book Fair.

CIROBE #17 Delivers For Exhibitors, Buyers

We've left our adolescence and are entering our grownup years,” said Anne Jonas, daughter of CIROBE (Chicago International Remainder and Overstock Book Exposition) cofounder Brad Jonas, as she delivered the trade show's closing announcement on Sunday, October 28. The show began the preceding Friday, with the traditional noon opening moved up to 9 a.

Topalian Promoted; Fensterman Joins NYCC

Reed Exhibitions promotes Greg Topalian to senior v-p and BEA director Lance Fensterman joins the staff of New York Comic-Con as show manager.

Revamped NAIBA Gets Thumbs Up

The decision to make NAIBA's annual trade show a mini-sales convention contributed to positive vides at the meeting held this weekend in Baltimore.

Wisconsin Book Festival Spreads

The sixth annual Wisconsin Book Festival took place at a variety of locations in the Badger State's two largest cities October 2—14, drawing more than 15,000 attendees.

Live From Frankfurt:Phobias, Math and Zoos Among The Hot Topics

A YA series preempted by Little, Brown, a nonfiction work on zoos bought by Weinstein Books were two big deals concluded today at Frankfurt, while two other major projects, The Book of Numbers and Age of Orphans, were drawing lots of interest from American houses.

Litquake Rocks San Francisco

San Francisco's week-long Litquake literary festival is attracting big names and big crowds.

Weltgeist in Frankfurt

Here are some things “everybody” knows about Frankfurt. (1) The hotels are hideously expensive (especially during Book Fair week), the food is bad and the weather is worse. (2) Since so much of the work is done in the evening over cocktails, or late dinners, you don't schedule appointments before 10 a.

Live from Frankfurt:
'War Child’ Headlines Deals on Day Two at Frankfurt

An autobiography of Emmanual Jal, Kenya's biggest music star, is drawing lots of interest at Frankfurt; the book will be published in the U.S. by St. Martin's, which paid $200,000 for American rights. Several other top titles are still being fought over by U.S. houses as the fair winds down its second day.

Live from Frankfurt: RH In Beijing Guide Deal; Lerner Starts U.K. Unit

Random House and the Beijing Publishing House have struck a deal to co-produce Fodor’s Guide to Beijing: 2008 Olympics Edition and an announcement from Lerner Publishing that it has formed a U.K. division.

Live from Frankfurt: Frankfurt Buzzing on New and Familiar Names

As the first day of the Frankfurt Book Fair neared an end, no one title was dominating the conversation, but a number of books were creating buzz, ranging from those from familiar names including Dave Eggers and Keith Richards, to debut novelists. The upbeat mood among American publishers was fueled further by the late afternoon announcement of the National Book Award finalists.

Digitalization Seen as Top Industry Challenge

A Frankfurt Book Fair survey found digitalization as the top industry challenge, while competition from other media was seen as the biggest threat to the health of book publishing.

Follett Will Have New Series at Frankfurt

GLBA Booksellers Buzz Books

A rundown of this year's Great Lakes Booksellers Association trade show, which was held at the new Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Convention Center in a Chicago suburb.

Attendance at NEIBA Show Holds Steady

Given today’s economic realities—the continued decline in bookstore sales and in the number of independent booksellers—the 34th annual NEIBA trade show in Providence, R.I., September 27-29, was a decided bright spot.

What's in Your Briefcase?

David Byrne likes to bike. Haruki Murakami loves to run. And Nathan Zuckerman, at the ripe old age of 71, can still pick up younger women. Foreign editors will learn all this and more when they flip through the rights catalogues the American agents and publishers are bringing to the Frankfurt Fair next month.