Arnaud Nourry, former global CEO of Hachette Livre, discussed his new venture, Les Nouveaux Éditeurs, in conversation with Publishing Perspectives editor-in-chief Porter Anderson at the Frankfurt Book Fair last week.

Nourry, who left Hachette Livre in 2021, announced Les Nouveaux Éditeurs this past June, following three years of semi-retirement and the end of a non-compete agreement he signed with Hachette. He described Les Nouveaux Éditeurs as something of an incubator for talented editors looking to start their own imprints. From LNE they receive help with funding, sales, and distribution, while, Nourry added, having "full independence."

Arnaud Nourry

That agreement, he emphasized, is "legally binding for us," and LNE will have "no right to interfere" with an imprint's publishing plan. The commitment is also for the long term, with Nourry noting that eventually, once these imprints have found success, "we buy them out before they retire."

Nourry pointed to several factors in the French publishing landscape that led him to launch LNE. One factor was the rate at which family-owned companies were being sold to larger conglomerates. Another factor was the desire to help maintain publishing's role as "one of the key voices in public debate" in France. And, finally, he had observed that there are new publishing ventures launched every year by people in their 30s, but hardly any by experienced professionals in their 40s and 50s.

People at that stage of life, he elaborated, "can't afford to not get paid." His hope is that LNE makes the prospect less risky and more appealing for the "most talented people" of that generation of publishers.

He remarked too that in France, people love to celebrate publishers like Hachette, which have histories lasting centuries. But if people want to celebrate more publishers' 100th anniversaries, he said, "we need to create them today. We cannot celebrate legacy imprints without creating new ones."

LNE announced its first imprint a few weeks ago, and Nourry expects to announce another handful before the start of the first quarter 2025. Nourry said LNE is not looking for imprints that fill specific niches such as romance or manga, because that "never works." Instead they are "just looking for talent" in any category save textbooks and education.

When Anderson compared LNE with Authors Equity, the new venture founded by Madeline McIntosh, Nina von Moltke, and Don Weisberg, Nourry agreed there are some similarities, but also key differences given the different publishing landscapes. In the U.S., where the role of the agent is "much, much bigger," authors are the "key talent." In France, where the agent community is not so massive, editors are the talent. He remarked: "They come with authors."

Asked whether his experience running Hachette Livre directly inspired the LNE model, Nourry said no, explaining that "when you run a company publishing 17,000 books in 10 languages," there was "no spare time" to "think about ways to operate differently."

He called it "fascinating" to approach running a publishing company with a blank slate, and said it makes it easier to implement things like AI processes, which could be disruptive in an established workplace. Elaborating on the uses of AI, he said there was "a lot to be done" in digital marketing, producing commercial documentation, pitching to foreign markets, logistics, and deciding on print runs.

Touching on rapidly changing reader habits and demographics, Nourry said that tomorrow's readers will not resemble the readers of the last 25 years, and he cautioned the industry to be very careful about not repeating the "same schemes" and same editorial tastes that it has relied on for decades. Otherwise, publishing will become a "club of editors" publishing books only they want to read. He also doubted that marketing is all publishers will have to rely on; rather, success will come from hiring talented editors from diverse backgrounds.

Commenting on the resilience of French bookselling, Nourry mentioned the laws passed in the early 1980s that barred discounting books. Readers may have a preference for one retailer or another, but it is not because of prices. While things like rising rents or inflation may challenge bookstores from time to time, the pricing laws make France "immune to a massive change in the ecosystem," he argued.

He recalled that while at Hachette, the company served around 10,000 accounts in France alone, and despite the difference in population between the two countries, France has roughly the same number of indies as the United States.

"I think we're happy guys in the French market, for sure," Nourry said. --Alex Mutter

About Time bookstore will host a grand-opening celebration this coming Friday, October 25, at 528 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Libertyville, Ill. The celebration will include a free tote bag for the first 20 purchasers, storytimes, food, and a ribbon cutting with the Mayor of Libertyville, Donna Johnson.

The Daily Herald reported that owner Delanie Dochelli's "obsession with reading began at Grant High School in Fox Lake when an AP literature teacher suggested a book she might like."

"From there, I couldn't stop. I love reading. I love the culture behind it. I love going to the bookstore," said Dochelli, adding that while she savors the selection of independents in Chicago, they are less common in the suburbs.

She explained the store's name in a Facebook post: "Books are about unique times in characters' stories. They take you through the past, present or future with words and pure imagination. About Time Bookstore will be a welcoming space for everyone to explore, relax and connect." 

Midnight release parties, author signings and readings, book clubs, writing and yoga classes are among the possibilities for the new store, the Daily Record noted. 

"I want people to do community events here, bring people in and create a community in itself. That will help from a sales standpoint," Dochelli said. "I want it to be an experience. I don't want people to think of it as a bookstore."

She became familiar with the publishing industry, author promotion, and corporate event planning while attending Butler University. For the past five years she has been working in digital marketing, but about a year ago decided to pursue bookselling as a business.

"I said, 'I want to do this. I'm going to put together a business plan and visit these places,' " she recalled, adding that Libertyville was among several communities considered but was first in her mind from the start. "I walked in and I knew," she said of the space. "I loved it. It was the town."

MochaLisa's Caffe, a cafe and bookstore in Clifton Park, N.Y., is moving to a new space at the end of the month, News10ABC reported.

The cafe and bookstore, which sells a variety of new and used titles, will remain in the Clifton Park Center Mall but switch to a space in the mall's food court that has both indoor and outdoor entrances.

Though the store will be the same size as in the current space, co-owner Nicole Van Zandt noted that she and her team will be able to use the square footage better. They plan to have a private room for rentals as well as an events stage. Looking further ahead, they intend to build an outdoor patio and get a liquor license.

Van Zandt hopes to be open in the new space by early November and be closed for as little time as possible. The last event in the cafe's current space is scheduled for this coming Sunday, October 27.

Van Zandt owns the bookstore and cafe with her husband, Roland, and brothers Alan and Colin Hughes. The group took over the store two years ago. She told News10ABC: "We are proud of the community we've built since taking ownership of MochaLisa's in November of 2022 and will bring the same level of commitment in our new space."

Saying that funding resources have been exhausted and the press is "not in a self-sustaining financial position," the University of Cincinnati announced that it is closing the University of Cincinnati Press, effective June 30, 2025. At that point, scholarly print and e-books will be assigned to the University of Minnesota Press, while published regional books, including the forthcoming Thinking About Ohio series, will be assigned to the Ohio University Press. All inventory and fulfillment services will continue to be managed by Chicago Distribution Center. The University of Cincinnati Libraries will continue to offer library publishing services for University of Cincinnati faculty authors of open access books, journals, and proceedings.

Founded in 2017, the University of Cincinnati Press has published more than 40 books--30% in open access--and seven academic journals; won nine academic, national, and regional book awards; and published the university's undergraduate student showcase annually. It has been committed to publishing "rigorous, peer-reviewed, leading scholarship in print, e-book, and open access under the governance of a faculty advisory board."

Dean and University Librarian Liz Kiscaden said, "Closure of the press does not diminish its success or impact in innovative scholarly and regional book publishing."

In a statement on the closure, the Association of University Presses said in part that in the "few short years" since the University of Cincinnati Press's founding, "director Elizabeth Scarpelli and her team built a vibrant publishing program dedicated to ensuring academic excellence and cultivating knowledge.... The University of Cincinnati Press served its university's diverse constituencies and garnered widespread praise, including from the National Council of Public History, the American Library Association's CHOICE magazine, and the Midwest Independent Publishers Association.

"The closure of a press such as Cincinnati's, with a thriving catalog and record of service to students and institutional priorities, is an anomaly. Though closures or defunding have been considered in several high-profile situations, public outcry and recognition of the significance of a press to multiple stakeholder communities have led university administrations to reconfirm and even strengthen institutional support or find new paths forward. AUPresses and our community of members are disappointed that such efforts have been unsuccessful to save the valued and valuable Cincinnati university press program."

The association also lauded the University of Minnesota Press and Ohio University Press for "stepping forward to ensure University of Cincinnati Press authors' work will still be available, these voices still heard, and the region still served. Scarpelli and her UCP colleagues have been generous members of the university press and campus communities, and we look forward to seeing their next chapters."

British crime author Alan Rustage, who wrote more than 60 novels, has died, the Bookseller reported. He was 75.

Rustage's publisher, Severn House, paid tribute to its "most prolific author," whose books included the Monika Paniatowski police procedurals, the Inspector Blackstone historical mysteries, the Jenny Redhead PI novels, the Inspector Woodend mysteries, and several standalone crime novels. He wrote a number of series under the pseudonym Sally Spencer. "His novels were noted for their complex, intricate plots coupled with sharp insights into human behavior," Severn House said.

Rachel Slatter, editorial director at the publisher, added: "The author of Severn House's first original novel, Alan is firmly embedded in the history of Severn House. He counts as Severn House's most prolific author in our 50-year history, hitting the remarkable milestone of the publication of his 50th book with Severn House back in 2021 before he put his pen down and retired from writing. I was lucky enough to have worked with Alan for many years."

After a period as an English teacher in the U.K., Iran, and Spain, he left teaching to pursue writing full time. His debut published novel, Salt of the Earth, released by Severn House in 1993, was the first in a trilogy that paid homage to his working-class hometown of Marston. 

"Alan's contributions to crime fiction have been outstanding and his legacy will continue to live on in his novels," said Joanne Grant, publisher at Severn House.  

The Bookstore Plus in Lake Placid, N.Y., hosted a book signing with author and former indie bookseller Carol Hoenig, whose new novel is Before She Was a Finley (Easton Studio Press). Pictured: Hoenig with store owner Marc Galvin.

The latest Open Book with David Steinberger podcast is called "The Price of Children" and features Maria Laurino, author of The Price of Children: Stolen Lives in a Land Without Choice, a new Open Book title. Laurino, who was a Village Voice staff writer and is the author of several titles on the Italian-American experience, talks about her new book, an expose about how thousands of children were taken from unwed mothers in Italy and sent to the U.S. for adoption falsely labelled "war orphans" in a program run by the Vatican. The podcast is available here.

Sunday's issue of Hut's Place, the weekly newsletter by Hut Landon, bookseller and former executive director of the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association (now part of the California Independent Booksellers Alliance), features books by the son of John le Carré (Karla's Choice by Nick Harkaway); Be Ready When the Luck Happens: A Memoir by Ina Garten, aka the Barefoot Contessa; and Patriot: A Memoir by Alexei Navalny, the late anti-Putin activist who died in a brutal prison in Russia and whose wife, Yulia, has been promoting the book in the U.S.

Ingram Academic and Professional will provide distribution services for Duke University Press in the U.S., effective July 2025. Each year Duke University Press publishes more than 150 books, more than 60 journals, and many digital collections.

Dean J. Smith, director of Duke University Press, said, "Ingram's vast distribution network promises to significantly expand the availability of our titles, ensuring greater market penetration and discoverability. Leveraging Ingram's sophisticated logistics and fulfillment services will enable us to transform the distribution of our books and free us to concentrate on our fundamental mission to deliver bold and innovative scholarship to a global audience."

American Rapture by CJ Leede (Tor Nightfire).

Today:
Good Morning America: Jenny Slate, author of Lifeform (Little, Brown, $29, 9780316263931). She will also appear today on the Today Show and tomorrow on Late Night with Seth Meyers.

Today Show: Jeff Kinney, author of Hot Mess: Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book 19 (Amulet, $14.99, 9781419766954). He will also appear tomorrow on the Kelly Clarkson Show.

Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Yulia Navalnaya discusses Patriot: A Memoir by her late husband, Alexei Navalny (Knopf, $35, 9780593320969).

Tomorrow:
CBS Mornings: John Grisham and Jim McCloskey, authors of Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions (Doubleday, $30, 9780385550444). John Grisham will also appear on the View.

Good Morning America: Bethany Joy Lenz, author of Dinner for Vampires: Life on a Cult TV Show (While Also in an Actual Cult!) (Simon & Schuster, $28.99, ‎9781668067307).

Today Show: Louise Erdrich, author of The Mighty Red: A Novel (Harper, $32, 9780063277052).

Drew Barrymore Show: Pamela Anderson, author of I Love You: Recipes from the Heart (Voracious, $35, 9780316573481).

Late Night with Seth Meyers: Tim O'Brien, author of America Fantastica: A Novel (Mariner, $19.99, 9780063318519).

Netlfix has released first-look images from the upcoming series 100 Years of Solitude, based on Gabriel García Márquez's classic novel, Deadline reported. The adaptation will be split into two eight-episode seasons, and the first will launch on December 11. The project has been sanctioned by the family of the author.

Dynamo, producer of Narcos and Falco, is making the series. Alex García López (The Witcher) and Laura Mora (The Kings of the World, Colombia's 2023 Oscar entry) share directing duties.

The team behind the project "started looking for the cast in 2022 and estimate they saw over 10,000 candidates for the 25 main characters across the seven generations of the Buendía family," Deadline reported. The cast includes Claudio Cataño (Colonel Aureliano Buendía), Jerónimo Barón (young Aureliano Buendía), Marco González (Jose Arcadio Buendía), Susana Morales (Úrsula Iguarán), Ella Becerra (Petronila), Carlos Suaréz (Aureliano Iguarán), and Moreno Borja (Melquiades).

Production designers Eugenio Caballero, Oscar winner for Pan's Labyrinth, and Bárbara Enríquez, Oscar nominated for Roma, oversaw the building of four versions of Macondo to reflect the passage of time. The producers "sourced period furniture from local antique stores and other fabrics and artifacts were made by local artisans," Deadline noted. "The attention to detail extended to the costume team, led by Catherine Rodríguez, which conducted painstaking research based mainly on the national records and on watercolors available from the time."

The winners have been announced for the 2024 Kirkus Prizes, in fiction, nonfiction and young readers' literature. The awards were chosen from books reviewed by Kirkus Reviews; each winner receives $50,000.

Fiction winner: James by Percival Everett (Doubleday). The citation reads, "In Percival Everett's audacious reimagining of Huckleberry Finn, Jim--the enslaved man who travels the Mississippi River with Huck--is revealed as James, who can write, argue with Voltaire, and speak in elevated English. This enthralling novel can be read on its own, but Everett has made it a necessary companion to Twain's masterpiece."

Nonfiction winner: Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space by Adam Higginbotham (Avid Reader Press). "Meticulously reported, beautifully written, and devastating in its account of an entirely preventable tragedy, Adam Higginbotham's book reveals the facts of a news story many Americans recall but few understand: the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger in January 1986, killing all seven crew members on board. The author lucidly details the technical issues that led to the disaster but, more crucially, he shines a light on the human failings--as well as the bravery--that were on display in this epochal event."

Young Readers' Literature winner: Gather by Kenneth M. Cadow (Candlewick). "Humor, grace, and tenderness bring to life this beautifully realized story. Ian, a white teen growing up in rural poverty and struggling with his mother's opioid addiction, finds support and community in the friends, neighbors, and random caregivers he gathers--all symbolized by the stray dog who gives the novel its title."

---

Historiae, translated from the Italian by Susan Stewart and Patrizio Ceccagnoli (New York Review Books) has won the 2024 Derek Walcott Prize, sponsored by Arrowsmith Press and the Derek Walcott Festival in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, and honoring a full-length book of poems by a living poet who is not a U.S. citizen (green card holders welcome). The book was chosen by Diane Mehta, the author of two poetry collections, Tiny Extravaganzas (2023) and Forest with Castanets (2019), and a forthcoming essay collection, Happier Far (2025). The winner and translators share a $2,000 prize.

The Women's National Book Association has chosen 20 titles for its 2024 Great Group Reads selections.

A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams (Grand Central)
Broiler by Eli Cranor (Soho Crime)
Dixon, Descending by Karen Outen (Dutton)
Down the Steep by A.D. Nauman (Regal House Publishing)
Dry Lands by Elizabeth Anne Martins (Flame Tree Publishing)
Eddie Winston Is Looking for Love by Marianne Cronin (Harper Perennial)
Here After by Amy Lin (Zibby Books)
I Talk About It All the Time by Camara Lundestad Joof (University of Wisconsin Press)
Last to Eat, Last to Learn by Pashtana Durrani and Tamara Bralo (Citadel Press)
My Side of the River by Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez (St. Martin's Press)
On Gold Hill by Jaclyn Moyer (Beacon Press)
Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy (Godine)
The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters (Catapult Press)
The Garretts of Columbia by David Nicholson (University of South Carolina Press)
The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali (Gallery Books)
The Middle Daughter by Chika Unigwe (Dzanc Books)
The Stark Beauty of Last Things by Céline Keating (She Writes Press)
Tiananmen Square by Lai Wen (Spiegel & Grau)
Under a Neon Sun by Kate Gale (Three Rooms Press)
Wanted: Toddler's Personal Assistant by Stephanie Kiser (Sourcebooks)

In her insightful, multilayered debut novel, The Magnificent Ruins, playwright and television executive Nayantara Roy turns her storytelling skills to a new form: the intergenerational family saga. Set in the wealthy Ballygunge neighborhood of Kolkata, Roy's narrative unfurls the story of the wealthy Lahiri family through the eyes of its American granddaughter and reluctant heiress, Lila De.

As the book opens, Lila has just been promoted after a wealthy entrepreneur has bought the small publishing house where she's a rising-star editor. In the same week, Lila learns her grandfather has died and left her the family's massive, elegant, decaying mansion--much to the chagrin of her twin great-uncles, Rana and Hari; her beautiful and difficult mother, Maya; and other assorted relatives, most of whom live in the house. Lila takes a leave and returns to Kolkata, attempting to navigate the tangled legalities and emotions surrounding her inheritance and her family's opinions about it.

Roy expertly portrays Lila's ambivalence about both the house and her mother's family: she loves them, and they her, but her Americanness clashes with their more traditional family dynamics. As well, she's the outsider suddenly forced to make decisions affecting a group of people who literally live on top of one another. To further complicate matters, Lila's cousin Biddy is weeks away from getting married, and Lila's family eventually decides to bring a lawsuit challenging her right to own and manage the house. Meanwhile, Lila's mother proves as maddening as ever in her attempts alternately to ply her daughter with food and push her away with sharp words.

When Seth, one of Lila's authors and her sometime lover, shows up unexpectedly in Kolkata, Lila is forced to confront her two worlds side by side: the family and culture that both grounds and frustrates her, and the fast-paced, modern but isolating New York world she has left. Staying in her father's apartment, which has been redecorated by her kind white stepmother, further highlights Lila's liminal state of being caught between her worlds. As she spends more time with her family, Lila eases back into comfort with them, but also starts to notice troubling patterns, most of them relating to her great-uncle Hari's behavior. As Biddy's wedding and the end of Lila's leave draw nearer, Lila must decide how to move forward: not only whether and how to manage the house, but what she wants to make of the life she left behind in Brooklyn.

Sharp-eyed and vividly detailed, Roy's debut explores secrets, shifting identities, the clash between tradition and modernity, and the overwhelming gravitational pull of family. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams

Shelf Talker: Nayantara Roy's gorgeous, multilayered debut novel delves into the tangled secrets and legalities of a multigenerational family in modern-day Kolkata.