BTW News Briefs

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

At BookExpo 2018, the Association of American Publishers and the Motion Picture Association of America will partner to host “Book to Film: The Cycle of Creativity,” a panel discussion on the process of adapting books for the big screen.

Mystery editor Otto Penzler, who owns The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City, has started a new company, Penzler Publishers. Its first imprint, American Mystery Classics, will feature works by popular American writers from “the Golden Age of detective fiction” and is set to release its first six books this fall.

Peter Mayer, who served as chairman and chief executive of the Penguin Group from 1978 to 1997, during which he published Salman Rushdie’s controversial novel The Satanic Verses, died on May 11 at age 82.

Tom Wolfe, author of the classic novels The Bonfire of the Vanities and The Right Stuff and a pioneer of the “New Journalism” movement, died on May 14 at the age of 88.

The Academy of American Poets was awarded the $10,000 Innovations in Reading Prize from the National Book Foundation for the academy’s Teach This Poem program, a free poetry resource for teachers featuring interdisciplinary materials and activities.

The winners of the annual New England Society Book Awards were announced on May 15 at the annual Founders’ Day Celebration in the categories of Art & Photography, Fiction, Nonfiction, and Specialty.

Winners of the 2018 British Book Awards announced this week include Philip Pullman, author of La Belle Sauvage (Knopf BYR), the first prequel to Pullman’s His Dark Materials series, who was named author of the year. Gail Honeyman won both debut and book of the year for her novel Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine (Pamela Dorman Books).

The 2017 Shirley Jackson Awards Nominees have been announced, honoring “outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic” in recognition of Jackson’s legacy.

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