BTW News Briefs

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

The 2020 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction were announced at the RUSA Book and Media Awards event at the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia on Sunday, January 26.

Lee and Low has released the results of its annual Diversity Baseline Survey of the publishing industry.

Bywater Books has launched Amble Press, which will primarily publish fiction and narrative non-fiction from writers who identify as people of color, and those writing across the broader queer spectrum.

The latest Panorama Picks have been announced by the Panorama Project, which spotlights notable recent fiction, nonfiction, and young adult e-books with the highest hold ratios in United States public libraries.

The Romantic Novelists’ Association is launching the inaugural National Romance Reading Month, taking place in February 2020.

Digital Book World has banned Macmillan employees from attending or speaking at the annual conference.

Kim Gray is joining Simon & Schuster in the newly created position of vice president, distribution client sales, leading the dedicated Distribution Client Sales Group that was established in December.

The Texas Book Festival has hired a new Literary Director, Matthew Patin, who will join the team in February. 

Michelle Obama’s Becoming (Penguin Random House Audio) was the winner of the Best Spoken Word Grammy award.

PEN America has announced the finalists for the 2020 PEN America Literary Awards.

The Volunteer: The True Story of the Resistance Hero who Infiltrated Auschwitz by Jack Fairweather is the winner of the 2019 Biography Award and Costa Book of the Year.

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.