Publishers Lunch

 

Today's Meal

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Kensington editor-in-chief John Scognamiglio will run the eponymous John Scognamiglio Books imprint, publishing 4 to 6 works of commercial fiction a year in hardcover, beginning in 2018 with titles including The Last Suppers by Mandy Mikulencak (January 2018) and This I Know by Eldonna Edwards (May 2018). CEO Steven Zacharius says in the announcement, "We're so pleased to offer John his own imprint.... John has nurtured and guided his authors to great commercial success and critical acclaim.... For him to curate and shape his own list will give readers a special opportunity to be introduced to wonderful stories and discover new authors." Scognamiglio, who has worked for Kensington for the past 25 years, notes, "My hope for the program is to shine a special spotlight on those novels that I feel are extra special. There's nothing I love more than discovering new authors and sharing them with others."

At Penguin Random House Audio, Karen Dzienkonski has been promoted to assistant director, content production, and Julie Wilson moves up to executive producer and audio special projects manager.

At Da Capo Press, Matthew Weston has been named assistant marketing director. Previously he was international marketing director at Random House. In addition, Quinn Fariel joins as marketing manager. Previously he was operations and rights manager at Hachette Audio.

Anna Bliss has joined The Experiment as editor-at-large. Previously she worked as an editor at HarperCollins and Globe Pequot Press and runs her own consultancy service, Bliss Editorial.

The NYT profiles Quirk Books publisher Jason Rekulak and his "freakishly fertile imagination." After writing "about a dozen" Quirk titles under pseudonyms and handing off multiple book ideas to Quirk authors, Rekulak "has finally written a novel he wants to take credit for": The Impossible Fortress.

Retailing
London's Sunday Times reports that real estate sources say "Amazon has begun scouting for potential retail outlets in and around central London," with one source indicating the company is looking at about two dozen potential high street locations. The etailer registered a UK trademark for Amazon Go -- the checkout-free grocery concept they are testing -- in December, and the report says Amazon is scouting for a UK version of the grocery store.