BTW News Briefs

Ingram’s Perseus Distribution Rebranded as Two Rivers Distribution

Ingram Publisher Services LLC, an operating company of Ingram Content Group, has announced a new name for the Perseus Distribution brand: Two Rivers Distribution.

This rebranding helps separate the distribution business from the publishing entity that is now with Hachette, according to Ingram; the change will not impact operations or client services.

Heidi Sachner, vice president of Ingram Publisher Services, Two Rivers, said the name “Two Rivers” is rich in meaning in several ways. “Rivers is an Ingram family name that honors our new home, and from a broader view, the name represents the role that we play as a distributor,” Sachner said. “As gateways, rivers are conduits for growth and expansion, which is a metaphor for the services we provide to our publishers. The new name also recognizes the two teams in New York City and Nashville, whose efforts are integral to the brand’s success.”

Esquire’s Mark Warren Joins Random House as Executive Editor, Vice President 

Starting October 16, Esquire executive editor Mark Warren will join Random House’s Little Random imprint as vice president and executive editor, Publishers Weekly reported.

At Little Random, Warren will edit and acquire nonfiction titles with a focus on politics and history; he will report to Andy Ward, the imprint’s vice president and editor-in-chief.

Prior to joining Random House, Warren worked as an editor at Esquire for 20 years, overseeing the magazine’s political coverage. He is also the co-author of The Good Fight, a memoir by former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Scholastic Announces Staff Changes

Scholastic’s trade business has recently made several promotions and new hires, Publishers Lunch reported.

Lisa Sandell has been promoted to editorial director of Scholastic Press, while Michael Petranek is now the executive editor and Lego publishing manager. April Chorba has been promoted to senior director of product development for Klutz, and Armin Bautista is now a designer for Klutz. Natalia Remis was promoted to associate editor of Scholastic Press/Orchard/The Blue Sky Press.

In addition, Dan Moser will now serve as Scholastic’s director of special markets and new business, while Heather Daugherty has joined the company as creative director of licensing and brands.

Gina Kim is now a product development manager for Klutz, and Julia Eisler has joined Scholastic as associate manager of marketing and social media. Also joining Scholastic are Alexis Kuzma as mass market sales associate and Orlando Dos Reis as an editor for Scholastic Press.

HarperCollins Publishers Announces the Formation of HarperCollins Hungary

HarperCollins has announced the creation of HarperCollins Hungary, which combines Harlequin Magyarország Kft. (Harlequin Hungary Ltd.) and the company’s longtime joint venture partner, Vinton Kft.

Harlequin Magyarország Kft. and Vinton Kft. have operated in Hungary for more than 25 years under co-owner and Managing Director Dr. Jozsef Bayer. The companies will continue their partnership under this new name, effective immediately; Beatrix Vaskó will serve as editor-in-chief of editions published by HarperCollins Hungary.

The company will continue to publish romance titles and expand its commercial trade publishing business with titles from HarperCollins and Harlequin, as well as books by local authors. In addition, HarperCollins Hungary will continue to publish series such as Romana, Júlia, Szívhang (Heart Beat), Tiffany, and Bianca under the Harlequin brand.

Gabriella Page-Fort Named PW Star Watch 2017 Superstar

Gabriella Page-Fort, editorial director at AmazonCrossing, has been named the 2017 PW Star Watch Superstar, Publishers Weekly reported.

Page-Fort was honored on September 6 at a party attended by roughly 200 members of the publishing community at New York’s Tao Downtown nightclub. During Page-Fort’s tenure, AmazonCrossing, Amazon’s publishing arm for books in translation, released more than 300 titles from 36 countries in 21 languages, of which Page-Fort acquired 239.

“Gabriella has had a tremendous role in increasing the number of books in translation published in the United States,” said Jim Milliot, editorial director of Publishers Weekly. “The quality of her acquisitions has expanded the U.S. literary landscape and opened new territory for readers and book lovers.”

As part of winning the award, Page-Fort will travel to the Frankfurt Book Fair in October.

2017 Dayton Literary Peace Prize Shortlist Announced

The shortlist for the 2017 Dayton Literary Peace Prize, which celebrates the power of literature to promote peace, justice, and global understanding, was announced last week.

Inspired by the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords that ended the war in Bosnia, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize is the only international literary peace prize awarded in the U.S.

The 2017 Dayton Literary Peace Prize fiction finalists are:

• Barkskins by Annie Proulx (Scribner)
• Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (Alfred A. Knopf)
• Perfume River by Robert Olen Butler (Grove Atlantic)
• The Fortunes by Peter Ho Davies (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
• The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (Doubleday)
• The Veins of the Ocean by Patricia Engel (Grove Atlantic)

The 2017 Dayton Literary Peace Prize nonfiction finalists are:

• City of Thorns by Ben Rawlence (Picador)
• Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance (HarperCollins)
• The Hundred-Year Walk by Dawn MacKeen (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
• The Song Poet by Kao Kalia Yang (Metropolitan Books)
• What Have We Done by David Wood (Little, Brown & Company)
• While the City Slept by Eli Sanders (Viking)

A winner and runner-up in fiction and nonfiction will be announced on October 3. Winners receive a $10,000 honorarium and runners-up receive $2,500.

This year’s winners will be honored at a gala ceremony in Dayton, Ohio, on November 5. Organizers announced in July that Irish author Colm Tóibín will receive the 2017 Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award at the ceremony.