News from Publishers Lunch

The Authors Guild announced that, for the first time since its founding in 1912, it is inviting "emerging writers" who have not yet published a book to join the organization.

Obituary
Graham C. Greene CBE, 80, died earlier this week. He was managing director of Jonathan Cape in the 1960s and 1970s and the architect of the merger of Cape, Chatto & Windus and The Bodley Head, eventually presiding over the group's sale to Random House. Greene was a director of the Ed Victor Ltd Literary Agency from its founding in 1976 and the chairman of Raymond Chandler Ltd, the holding company for the estate of Raymond Chandler.

Acquisitions
NetGalley has acquired the Bookish.com web site from Zola Books, which retains the former Bookish (now Zola Recommends) recommendation engine. NetGalley says they will continue to run Bookish as an independent site. CEO Fran Toolan says in the announcement, "We view Bookish.com as yet another way that our client publishers can help their books succeed."

Awards
The UK's Crime Writers Association Dagger Awards were presented Tuesday night, with Bill Beverly's Dodgers winning for both best crime novel and best debut crime novel. Don Winslow's The Cartel was named best crime thriller, and David Young's Stasi Child was awarded best historical crime novel