Publising Industry Update

Talked with Hannah Erhlich at Lee and Low today about their New Voice Award that I posted on Monday.  I asked her, “What does it mean to be a person of color?”

She said, “Well, that can be a pretty complicated question, but for the purposes of our New Voices Award specifically, we accept contest entries from people of African, Asian/Pacific Islander, Latin American, Middle Eastern, or Native American/Indigenous descent.”

So it is much broader than you first might have thought.  Hannah has posted a lot of information at: http://blog.leeandlow.com/2010/08/12/your-new-voices-award-questions-answered/  You should check it out.  It even says you do not have to be a person of color to get published by them.

In other industry news; Sourcebooks has hired Leah Hultenschmidt as senior editor in their New York office, acquiring romance and YA projects for their Casablanca and Fire imprints. She was editorial director at Dorchester.

 I only put this out, because this sounds like something books are made of:  The New York Times reports that turmoil continues at the Virginia Quarterly Review in the wake of managing editor Kevin Morrissey’s suicide and an investigation of accusations of bullying by the editor. The winter issue has been cancelled and the journal has “closed its offices.” 

Borders is starting a second paid Borders Rewards Plus program. A $20 annual membership will provide “savings on nearly all Borders merchandise, and free shipping on virtually all online orders.” The enhanced discounts include “40 percent off the list price of hardcover bestsellers, 20 percent off the list price of select hardcovers, and 10 percent off the purchase price of most everything else.” CEO Mike Edwards says, “We saw a great opportunity to differentiate Borders in the marketplace by offering the choice of a paid program or a free program.”

Please send me any industry information if something comes your way.  Thanks,  Kathy