BTW News Briefs

PGW to Distribute Europa Editions

Europa Editions has signed a deal with Publishers Group West (PGW) for sales and distribution in the U.S., Canada, and all international territories except for the U.K., Ireland, and Italy, Publishers Weekly reported.

The deal goes into effect in February 2018; Europa has worked with Penguin Random House Publisher Services for the past three years.

Pearson Sells Global Education Business

Pearson has sold Global Education (GEDU), which provides English language training and test preparation for Chinese students preparing to study abroad, to privately owned Chinese company Puxin Education.

The sale of the business, which Pearson acquired in 2011 for $155 million, is expected to generate in the region of $80 million, according to Pearson. The company had announced that it was exploring a possible exit of the business in February. In 2016, GEDU had revenue of £78 million and an adjusted operating loss of £4 million as well as approximately 1,900 employees.

In a statement, Pearson reported that this sale marks progress in the company’s “strategic shift away from large-scale direct delivery services to focus on more scalable online, virtual, and blended services.”

Bloomsbury China to Launch Next Year

Bloomsbury Publishing Executive Director Richard Charkin announced the 2018 launch of Bloomsbury China at a speech at the Beijing International Publishing Forum on August 22, Australia’s Books and Publishing reported.

Bloomsbury China will publish English-language originals and works in translation and will be run out of the publisher’s London office. Its first deal is The Complete Dramatic Works of Tang Xianzu, “The Chinese Shakespeare,” to be signed with the Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press at this year’s Beijing International Book Fair, which runs August 23–27.

At the forum, Charkin was honored with the Special Book Award of China, which recognizes contribution to the promotion of cultural exchange between China and the rest of the world, Books and Publishing reported. In his speech, Charkin said he “believes the future of Chinese publishing is bright.”

Open Road Expands Marketing Team

Open Road Integrated Media has expanded its marketing team, the company has reported. Libby Jordan, who previously served as vice president of marketing at Bookshout and an advisor to Open Road, will join the company in the new role of executive director of marketing operations.

The marketing department has also been reorganized into three teams: marketing operations, audience development, and analytics. Jordan and the other team heads will report to Mary McAveney, the company’s executive vice president of marketing.

Recent hires on the marketing team under Jordan include Senior Director of Marketing Hillary Tisman, Digital Marketing Manager Andrew Chapell, and Digital Marketing Coordinator Juliann Fiorentino.

Nicole Mitchell Assumes Presidency of Association of American University Presses 

University of Washington Press Director Nicole Mitchell has assumed the presidency of the Association of American University Presses (AAUP). Mitchell, who is preceded by University Press of Colorado Director Darrin Pratt, began her one-year term on June 11 at the association’s annual meeting. 

Mitchell has been the director of the University of Washington Press since 2012, where she restructured the press and refreshed its editorial program. Prior to that, she served as the director of the University of Georiga Press for 10 years. Mitchell has also served on the AAUP’s Professional Development Committee, including a term as chair; the Task Force on University Relations; the Nominating Committee; and a term on the AAUP Board.

NAIBA Announces 2017 Book of the Year Award Winners

The New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association (NAIBA) has announced the 2017 Book of the Year Award winners, which recognize an author who was born or lived in the NAIBA region, and/or a book whose story takes place in the region. Eligible books must have been published between June 1 and May 31 of the award year.

The 2017 books of the year are:

• Fiction: The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (Doubleday Books/Random House)
• Nonfiction: March: Book Three by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell (Top Shelf Productions)
• Young Adult Literature: Still Life With Tornado by A.S. King (Dutton Books for Young Readers/Penguin)
• Middle Grade: Ghost by Jason Reynolds (Atheneum Books/S&S)
• Picture Book: They All Saw a Cat by Brendan Wenzel (Chronicle Books)

Bookseller nominations are gathered throughout the year and are reviewed by the NAIBA awards committee. NAIBA bookstore members voted on the winners in July.

All winners will be honored at the NAIBA Conference Awards Banquet on October 7 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

Thurber Prize Finalists Announced

Thurber House has announced the 2017 finalists for the Thurber Prize for American Humor, which recognizes outstanding contributions in humor writing. 

This year’s three finalists for the prize, which is named after the humorist James Thurber, are:

• Trevor Noah for Born a Crime: Stories Fom a South African Childhood (Spiegel & Grau)
• Ken Pisani for Amp’d (St. Martin’s Press)
• Aaron Thier for Mr. Eternity (Bloomsbury USA)

The prize will be awarded at a ceremony at Carolines on Broadway in New York City on October 2. The winner receives $5,000, a commemorative plaque, and an invitation to Thurber House in Columbus, Ohio.