BTW News Briefs

Don Weisberg Named President of Macmillan, Jen Loja Promoted to President of Penguin Young Readers

Don Weisberg, the president of the Penguin Young Readers Group (PYRG) since 2008, is leaving Penguin Random House to become president of Macmillan Publishers USA. Succeeding him as president of PYRG is Jen Loja, presently the group’s senior vice president and associate publisher. She will become president effective December 1.

The announcement was made on Thursday, November 19, in a companywide memo from PRH CEO Marcus Dohle.

In her new role, Loja will report directly to Dohle. She will also join the Penguin Random House North America board and will become a member of the Global Executive Committee (GEC).

As president of Macmillan USA, Weisberg will oversee all of its adult and children’s publishing, as well as sales operations in the U.S. He will report directly to Macmillan CEO John Sargent.

Prior to becoming president of Penguin Young Readers Group, Weisberg was chief operating officer, North America for Random House.

Penguin Random House Launches 2015 #GiveaBook Campaign

Penguin Random House has launched its annual #GiveaBook social media campaign to promote books as gifts and to give back to children in need during the holidays.

For a second year, Penguin is inviting people to use the hashtag #GiveaBook on Facebook and Twitter between Monday, November 16, and Thursday, December 24. For every use, Penguin Random House will donate one book to the literacy charity First Book, up to a total of 35,000, an increase from last year’s goal of 25,000 books.

New for this year’s campaign is The Giving Map, an online searchable map where visitors can find out where they can make a donation at a local book retailer or library. Booksellers are encouraged to enter information about their stores’ holiday book drives and collection details onto the Giving Map Submission Form.

For book retailers and librarians, the #GiveaBook website offers shareable marketing materials and resources, including printable shelf-talkers and downloadable campaign logos.

Chronicle Books Launches 4th Annual #GiveBooks Campaign

On Monday, Chronicle Books launched its fourth annual #GiveBooks campaign, the publisher’s social media-based effort to promote literacy, encourage people to give books as gifts, and to provide books to kids in need during the holiday season.

Like Penguin Random House, Chronicle is working in partnership with First Book. The San Francisco-based publisher has invited booksellers, publishers, and the public to tweet and pin using the hashtag #GiveBooks to promote the campaign. Chronicle will kick off the giveaway by donating 30,000 copies of the board book series Star Wars™ Epic Yarns to children in need. First Book will distribute the books to its national network of more than 200,000 educators and community program leaders.

Chronicle Books is also partnering with Gramming for Good, a project of the San Francisco-based organization Collective Good, which will encourage its network of high-profile Instragram users to post with the hashtag #GiveBooks throughout the campaign.

The look of the 2015 campaign was designed by Steve McDonald, illustrator of Chronicle Books’ hit adult coloring book Fantastic Cities. Visitors to GiveBooks.co  are invited to download a coloring sheet of a classic indie bookstore.

PBS to Provide Live Online Coverage of Miami Book Fair

From November 20 to 22, PBS will cover the 32nd annual Miami Book Fair, one of the nation’s oldest and largest literary festivals. Taking place at Miami Dade College, the festival will feature interviews with dozens of authors, illustrators, and celebrities.

Coverage of the festival, co-founded by former ABA president Mitchell Kaplan, owner of Florida’s Books & Books stores, will be produced by Detroit Public Television for PBS and will be supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Jeffrey Brown, chief correspondent for arts, culture, and society for PBS NewsHour, and Book View Now host Rich Fahle will host the broadcast.

Live stream coverage will be available online via the main PBS website and at www.BookViewNow.org, plus select PBS station websites and the WORLDChannel.org. Some content will also be available for on-demand viewing, including via online video player for use by bookstores, publishers, blogs and media outlets, or any other entity. Embed code instructions and additional information can be found at livestream.com/detroitpublictv/mbf15/embed.

The Rise of the Robots Wins 2015 Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award

Martin Ford is the winner of the 2015 Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award for The Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of Mass Unemployment (Basic Books and Oneworld Publications).

The award given by the British financial newspaper and an American management consulting firm recognizes the book that “provides the most compelling and enjoyable insight into modern business issues.” The winner receives a £30,000 prize. Each of the five runners-up receive a check for £10,000.

Ford was presented with the 2015 Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year on November 17 at a ceremony at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York City.