News


IPA boss: publishers can prosper in ‘post-truth’ world


WORDS Benedicte Page P


UBLISHERS SHOULD STAND as “beacons of trustworthiness” in an age of fake news and alternative facts, Inter- national Publishers Association president Michiel Kolman has said. Kolman, who is senior vice-president of global academic relations at Elsevier, told The Bookseller Daily that he hoped publish- ers would “take a leading role in providing trustworthy, reliable information—it’s the core of what we do”. He added: “An STM publisher spends time on the selection of articles, then works with an author so the article is enhanced, and only high-qual- it work is published. That’s also core to a literary house. I really hope, in this turbu- lent world, that publishers are beacons of trustworthiness.”


Kolman said freedom to publish was central to the IPA’s activit—and that it was under threat across the world. The trade body and Kristenn Einarsson, the new head


Asked where he stood on Simon & Schus-


ter US dropping far-right commentator Milo Yiannopoulos’ book, Kolman said: “There is the criteria of qualit: would{[the title] pass the test? And he might be expressing an opinion most disagree with, but should he not have a vehicle to express it?” Kolman said he believed publishers could “drive change—in the right way” in terms of technology altering the fabric of soci-


[A publisher] works with an author so the article is enhanced, and only high-quality work is published... I really hope, in this turbulent world, that publishers are beacons of trustworthiness


IPA president Michiel Kolman pictured


of its Freedom to Publish Commitee, are engaged on such issues: IPA staff may atend the imminent trial of Turkish writer Asli Erdoğan; and Kolman will travel to China next month to meet with publishers, Chinese publishing association members and govern- ment officials, with freedom to publish on the agenda alongside piracy concerns.


Faber has signed a “gonzo” memoir from Goldie, one of the iconic figures of the 1990s jungle scene. Lee Brackstone bought world rights to All Things Remembered from Goldie’s manager, Sav Remzi, for the Faber Social list. Clifford Joseph Price’s stage name comes


Faber snatches ‘gonzo’ Goldie


‘Top Gear’ trio return with Amazon series tie-in


Harper Non-Fiction has acquired The Grand Tour to the World, which it will publish in October, and a second book based on Amazon series “The Grand Tour”, with publishing director Jack Fogg buying world rights in all languages from Jonny Geller at Curtis Brown. Release of the first title will tie in with the launch of the second series of the Amazon Original motoring show featur- ing Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.


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from his distinctive gold teeth; his book will span from his rough upbringing, to “the snowiest uplands of coke-crazed interna- tional celebrity”. It promises to be “explosive [with] graffiti, gold teeth, sawn-off shotguns, car crashes, hot yoga, absent fatherhood— and redemption”. Goldie, who was awarded an MBE for services to music and young peo- ple in 2016, said his memoir would cover “everything from the children’s homes to the Whispering Wheels roller-disco, to rolling with the graffiti kings of New York, to writing with David Bowie, to reinventing myself as the Dorian Gray of fucking breakbeat.”


Canongate seals ‘sweeping’ Shetland tale


Canongate has pre-empted a “sweeping” literary novel by Mal- achy Tallack. Editor Jo Dingley acquired world rights, including audio, from agent Jenny Brown. Set in Shetland, Tallack’s as-yet- untitled novel follows a cast of very different characters living “on the very edge of the world”. It is about love and betrayal, family and inheritance, rapid change and an age-old way of life, Canongate said. It plans to publish in spring 2018.


et. “In 10 years, jobs we used to have [will have] disappeared, and new ones appeared; we will live in a Big Data societ. To make that change happen smoothly, to have the right information, is crucial. Science plays a crucial role, as does education. We will have to educate people for different roles, differ- ent jobs. Publishers can.”


Scholastic has that Mis-teeq...


Scholastic UK has bought a middle grade series about a girl who is a superhero, by singer and TV presenter Alesha Dixon. The two-book deal, for world rights, was struck between Scholastic UK editorial director Lauren Fortune and Lauren Gardner of Bell Lomax Moreton. The former Mis-teeq singer said she was excited to “create a strong female character who young girls and boys can hopefully be inspired by and look up to”. Fortune added: “It’s high time we had a new girl superhero to root for in this middle grade space—and Alesha has created such a stand-out character: Aurora Beam.” Aurora Beam will be published in spring 2018.


Allen-Jones adds Aarhus to agency’s portfolio


Aarhus-based publisher Mod- tryk has retained scouting agency Louise Allen-Jones Asso- ciates, bringing its roster to 15. Modtryk joins other global cli- ents, among them EDI8 (France), Record (Brazil), Bruna (the Neth- erlands) and Arena and Ullstein (Germany). The Danish firm publishes Scandinavian authors such as Jo Nesbo, Arne Dahl and Stieg Larsson, as well as Philip Kerr, Jane Gardam and the Hogarth Shakespeare series.


Baggini can handle the truth in Quercus title


Quercus has signed A Short History of Truth: Consolations for a Post-Truth World by Julian Baggini, founding editor of The Philosophers’ Magazine. It is “a considered, comforting look at the notion of truth [in] an age of anxiety”. Richard Milner acquired world rights from Lizzy Kremer at David Higham Associates, to publish in the autumn.


Venerable book rep Mayenburg passes away


Book rep Mirjam Mayenburg died on 11th March following a long illness. She spent 30 years as a “much respected, admired and loved representative” in Benelux, Scandinavia and France for a group of university presses, said Richard Howells, sales director of Harvard Uni- versity Press. Howells added: “Mirjam had a passion for life, a wicked sense of fun and humour, and an enormously generous and kind heart.”


16th March 2017


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