BTW News Briefs

Here’s what’s happening this week in the book industry:

Bestselling author James Patterson is among the artists and philanthropists who will be honored Thursday at the White House. Patterson will receive a National Humanities Medal from the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Baker & Taylor Publisher Services will represent Tachyon Publications for sales and fulfillment starting January 1.

Andy Ward has been promoted to publisher at Penguin Random House’s flagship imprint, Random House, replacing Susan Kamil, who died last month. Knopf’s Robin Desser has been selected as senior vice president and editor-in-chief.

Derek Warker has joined The New Press as publicity manager.

Sara Broun has been promoted to publicity director for Harper Christian’s W Publishing division.

Michelle Montague has been promoted to executive director of marketing at Holiday House.

At Abrams, Jessica Wiener has joined as senior director of marketing for adult books, and Kim Lew has been promoted to senior manager of marketing for adult books.

Indies Introduce pick Lot by Bryan Washington (Riverhead Books) has won the $15,000 2019 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence, which is sponsored by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation.

Lucy Ellmann’s Ducks, Newburyport (Biblioasis) has won the U.K.’s Goldsmiths Prize for fiction.

Maoism: A Global History by Julia Lovell (Knopf) has won the $75,000 2019 Cundill History Prize, which honors “the best history writing in English.”

The Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association has announced a shortlist for the 2020 PNBA Book Awards, which was selected by a committee of PNBA members. The winners will be announced on January 8.

Shortlists have been released for the Foyles Books of the Year Awards in three categories: fiction, nonfiction, and children’s/YA.

Aspen Words has announced the 16 books longlisted for the 2020 Aspen Words Literary Prize. The $35,000 award is given to a work of fiction that addresses a vital contemporary issue.

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