BTW News Briefs

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

PW Star Watch has named Jennifer Baker, production editor at Teacher College Press in New York, as the 2019 PW Star Watch Superstar. The contest’s five top finalists, narrowed down from 50 honorees, included bookseller Nicole Brinkley, floor and digital manager for Oblong Books & Gifts in Rhinebeck, New York.

Strand Bookstore owner Nancy Bass Wyden has announced she will sue New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission, which approved landmark status for the Strand as well as six other nearby buildings in June. Wyden made the announcement this week, after the New York City Council’s Land Use Committee officially voted to designate the Strand bookstore’s building a landmark.

Members of the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association board of directors voted last week to dissolve the association at the end of the year due to projected insolvency. Members will vote on the resolution at the SCIBA annual meeting on September 27.

Audible has filed a motion to dismiss the copyright infringement lawsuit filed by seven publishers in order to prevent the Audible’s Captions program from including their titles, insisting it is fundamentally a contract dispute. The Authors Guild and the Association of Authors’ Representatives recently filed an amicus brief in support of the publishers’ suit.

Oxford University Press is merging the company’s two education divisions, Oxford Education and Asia Education, into one global business. Said Chief Executive Nigel Portwood, “Creating a single division focused on our education markets will help us to compete more effectively and further enhance our ability to serve schools and learners across the world.”

Mountaineers Books has announced that the company will now handle fulfillment for Green Trails Maps, backcountry map maker and publisher of more than 150 map titles, starting October 1. Green Trails Maps will be available through Mountaineers’ marketing and sales channels, and will continue to be found at more than 550 outdoor retailers in the West as well as online.

New educational children’s book line Reycraft Books, launching this fall, will represent a diverse range of backgrounds, according to founding publishers Sara and Tom Reycraft. The Reycrafts are also the co-founders of Benchmark Education Company.

Stephanie Mendoza has joined Algonquin Books as publicity manager. She was previously a senior publicist at Atria.

Stephanie Cooper has joined Dutton and Plume as marketing director. She previously worked at HarperCollins as marketing director.

Oprah Winfrey has chosen Between the World and Me author Ta-Nehisi Coates’ first novel, The Water Dancer, as the latest Oprah’s Book Club Pick. The novel was released on September 24 by Random House’s One World imprint.

The National Book Foundation has announced its annual 5 under 35 honorees, a selection of five fiction writers under the age of 35 “whose debut work promises to leave a lasting impression on the literary landscape.”

Canada’s 2019 Cundill History Prize shortlist has been announced. The winner, who will receive $75,000 in prize money, will be revealed at the Cundill History Prize Gala in Montreal on November 14.

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