HarperCollins

Legendary musician Burt Bacharach has landed a book deal with HarperCollins. Bacharach will collaborate with journalist Robert Greenfield on the book, Anyone Who Had a Heart. Publication is set for November 2012.

Publisher Jonathan Burnham and executive editor Claire Wachtel negotiated the deal with Intellectual Property Group literary agents Amy Schiffman and Brian Lipson.

Here’s more from the release: “As powerful and moving as Burt Bacharach’s most unforgettable songs, Anyone Who Had a Heart will provide readers with a backstage pass to a world of show business that no longer exists. It will also give them an up close and personal look at the life of an artist whose incredible body of work has earned him a unique position in the American cultural landscape while also providing the sound track for the lives of millions of devoted fans all over the world.”

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HarperCollins has created the official C.S. Lewis Twitter account. The Twitter feed will include famous quotes, future opportunities and news about his books. As of this writing, the account counts 6,775 followers.

Currently, anybody who tweets about the Twitter feed will receive a free e-Booklet. On November 16th, Lewis’ stepson, Douglas Gresham, will be hosting a live twitter event.

The publisher will also host a book giveaway. Winners will be selected through a random drawing and will receive one of the following books: The C.S. Lewis Bible, A Year with Aslan, A Year with C.S. Lewis or The C.S. Lewis Journal. Follow this link to learn more about the official rules. (Lewis picture via)

HarperCollins will pay $200 million to acquire the Christian publisher Thomas Nelson. News Corp., the parent company of HarperCollins, revealed this figure in its quarterly filing on Friday.

As we noted last week, the publisher intends to finalize the deal by the end of 2011.

Publishers Weekly has more details about the sale: “In 2006, InterMedia paid $473 million for the publisher which had sales of $253 million at the time. Nelson’s current revenue is unavailable.”

Suspense novelist Dennis Lehane will acquire books for his own line at HarperCollins’ William Morrow imprint.  Lehane has published with HarperCollins for nearly two decades.

In his new role, Lehane (pictured, via Diana Lucas Leavengood) will be working with executive editor Claire Wachtel. HarperCollins president Michael Morrison and William Morrow publisher Liate Stehlik negotiated the new role with Lehane’s literary agent, Ann Rittenberg. Earlier this year, the Ecco imprint announced a similar deal with celebrity chef/writer Anthony Bourdain.

Lehane had this statement in the release: “I’m one of those people who buys ten copies of a book I like and sends it to people I think would enjoy it. My goal is to call attention to worthy writers, who for some unknown reason aren’t as popular as they deserve to be. That’s a reason to get out of bed every morning. My background—where I grew up in Boston, the kinds of novels I like to read and write, my time spent as a writer on The Wire—will influence the kinds of books I acquire. But I just want to publish good work—an enthralling story gracefully told.”

Chief digital officer Charlie Redmayne will leave HarperCollins to serve as the new CEO of J. K. Rowling‘s Pottermore site.

Redmayne’s last day will be on Friday, November 4th. Until the position is filled, executive vice president of operations and technology Larry Nevins will handle his responsibilities.

Redmayne had this statement: “I’m very sad to be leaving HarperCollins – it is a terrific company and I have loved my time within it. HarperCollins has made great strides in the digital world over the last few years – because it is well led and has great people. These efforts will continue at pace and I look forward to watching their future success.”

Today Amazon wirelessly replaced the eBook version of Neal Stephenson‘s Reamde after readers found errors in the $16.99 eBook.

One customer called for a 75 percent refund: “this level of carelessness is inexcusable on economic grounds. I’d expect to find format errors and mangled content in a pirated ebook, not in a $17 Kindle edition. When I purchase an ebook at a price point so close to the print version, the publisher rakes in far more profit than from a print title. To then turn around and offer shoddy, incomplete text in that pricey Kindle title shows an arrogant disregard for economics, the reader, and the distribution channel.”

The Awl reprinted Amazon’s emailed response, explaining how to update your copy of the book. How do you think publishers should respond to errors in new eBooks?

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Controversial rock star Courtney Love has landed a deal with HarperCollins’ William Morrow imprint for a “tell-all” memoir. The music video embedded above features Love singing with her band, Hole.

Love will collaborate with writer Anthony Bozza on this project. In the past, Bozza has co-authored books with musical artists Tommy Lee, Slash and INXS. Deputy publisher Lynn Grady negotiated the deal with literary agent David Vigliano.

Here’s more from the release: “Although Love is often associated with deceased husband, music legend and front man of Nirvana, Kurt Cobain, she has had an incredible artistic career of her own crisscrossing into music, film, popular culture, and fashion…The as yet untitled memoir will offer a no-holds-barred look into Love’s life from childhood to the present day.”

Former secretary of state Colin Powell (pictured, via) has inked a deal at HarperCollins for a new book entitled It Worked For Me: Lessons in Leadership and Life. The nonfiction title is slated for publication in May 2012.

Powell will be collaborating with writer Tony Koltz on this project. Publisher Jonathan Burnham negotiated the deal with Josephson International LLC’s Marvin Josephson. Executive editor Tim Duggan will edit the book.

Here’s more from the release: “[This book] is a collection of lessons and personal anecdotes that have driven the four star-general and former Secretary of State’s legendary career in public service. Leading off with Powell’s ’13 Rules,’ culled together from scraps of paper that he accumulated at his desk and are now used in leadership presentations throughout the world, the book sheds light on the making and success of one of our most revered statesmen. Powell’s short-but-sweet rules—like ‘Get mad, then get over it’ and ‘Share credit’—set the tone for the rest of his book, in which he tells revealing personal stories to expand on his principles for effective leadership: conviction, hard work, and above all, respect for others.”

Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain will acquire three to five books every year for a new line at HarperCollins’ Ecco imprint.

Publisher Daniel Halpern negotiated the deal with Inkwell Management literary agent Kim Witherspoon. The New York Times likened Bourdain’s new editorial role to the venture established by comedienne Chelsea Handler at Hachette Book Group’s Grand Central Publishing imprint.

Bourdain had this statement in the release: “I’m doing this because … I can …We’re presently looking at an initial list composed of chefs, enthusiasts, fighters, musicians and dead essayists. And we’re looking to publish them in a way that’s both accessible and respectful of the power of the written word – and appropriately fetishistic about the tactile joys of the printed page.”

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eBooks and children’s books helped HarperCollins have a profitable fiscal 2011 year. The News Corps-owned publisher recorded a profitable quarter and exceeded its plan for the year.

Publishers Marketplace has more: “They say the children’s division enjoyed ‘its second best ever’ year. eBook sales were ‘approximately 12 percent of sales in the US’ for the full fiscal year. Last quarter, for that period alone, Harper said ebooks comprised 19 percent of US sales and 11 percent of worldwide sales.”

NewsCorps released its fiscal 2011 numbers late yesterday afternoon. Historically they have broken out HarperCollins’ numbers, but this year the company did not break out income for book publishing specifically, instead reporting on its entire publishing business, which includes newspapers. This publishing division had a full year segment operating income of $864 million, a huge growth compared to the $467 million reported a year ago.