Simon & Schuster

The Department of Justice has sued Apple and publishers for allegedly colluding to set eBook prices. Apple, Macmillan and Penguin will fight the suit in court; HarperCollins (statement here), Simon & Schuster and Hachette (statement here) have settled with the government.

In court documents, DOJ attorneys alleged that Apple and five major publishers engaged in a “substantial” conspiracy as they set up the agency model for eBook pricing–including deleting emails “to avoid leaving a paper trail.”

Macmillan CEO John Sargent has decided to fight the suit. Read his letter here: “Other publishers have chosen to settle. That is their decision to make. We have decided to fight this in court.”

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Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting June 7. Speakers include Abigail Cusick (Bravo Digital), Gregory Galant (Sawhorse Media), Alex Leo (Thomson Reuters Digital), Jim Tobin (Ignite Social Media), and many more. Read the reviews.

Grammy-nominated singer Jewel has inked a deal to publish her first picture book. Paula Wiseman Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, will release That’s What I’d Do and its companion CD on September 18th.

Publisher Jon Anderson negotiated the deal with Williams & Connolly’s Robert Barnett. Paula Wiseman will edit this project. Artist Amy June Bates will serve as the illustrator.

Jewel drew inspiration for this work from a song she wrote/recorded that shares the same name as her forthcoming book. She explained in the release: “I love to sing to my son, Kase, and I hope my first children’s book, That’s What I’d Do, will be shared with new babies in the same way. All children need the joy of music in their lives.”

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After leaving in 2010 to work as editorial director at Penguin’s Putnam imprint, Marysue Rucci has returned to Simon & Schuster. She will now serve as editor-in-chief of Simon & Schuster’s adult trade imprint.

Rucci spent 13 years at the publisher before heading to Penguin. Some of the titles on her list include Little Bee by Chris Cleave, The Spellman Files series by Lisa Lutz and The House at Sugar Beach by Helene Cooper.

In other revolving door news, Marisa Russell will join Penguin Young Readers Group as publicity manager.

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Raffaele Sollecito has inked a book deal with Simon & Schuster’s Gallery Books. In the memoir, Amanda Knox‘s former boyfriend will tell his side of the story about being tried for the murder of Meredith Kercher in Perguia, Italy alongside the American student. The book, which was represented by Sharlene Martin at Martin Literary Management, will be co-authored by journalist Andrew Gumbel and released this fall.

The Associated Press has more: “The publisher announced Thursday that ‘Presumed Guilty: My Journey to Hell and Back with Amanda Knox’ would cover his relationship with the U.S. exchange student, their arrests and imprisonment in Italy over the death of Knox’s roommate and their eventual release last fall after the convictions were overturned.”

Knox is working on a memoir for HarperCollins which will come out next year. According to the New York Times, Knox, whose agent is Washington D.C.-based attorney Robert Barnett, earned  close to $4 million for the deal.

Cassandra Clare has landed a deal for a new young adult series called The Dark Artifices. Margaret K. McElderry Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, will release the first book in 2015.

Editorial director Karen Wojtyla negotiated the deal with Russell Galen of Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary Agency. This will be her third Shadowhunters series, the same world featured in The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices.

Here’s more from the release: “Set against the glittering backdrop of present-day Los Angeles, the series follows Emma Carstairs, the fiercest warrior and most skilled young Shadowhunter since Jace Wayland, and Emma’s sworn partner in arms, Julian Blackthorn. Despite Emma’s complicated feelings for Julian, the two must band together to investigate a demonic plot that stretches from the warlock-run nightclubs of the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica.”

Publisher Jon Anderson announced several promotions at Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division yesterday.

Lucille Rettino will serve as vice president and director of marketing. Matt Pantoliano has been named senior digital marketing manager. Both Elke Villa and Julie Christopher were promoted to associate director of marketing.

Chrissy Noh is now a senior marketing manager. Carolyn Swerdloff will work as the marketing manager. Sooji Kim joins the team as digital marketing coordinator.

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Have you ever tried to write dystopian fiction?

We caught up with The Chemical Garden trilogy author Lauren DeStefano and the Dustlands trilogy author Moira Young to talk about the art of writing dystopian fiction. 

DeStefano (pictured, left) and Young (pictured, right) both have finished their second novels: DeStefano’s Fever (out today) and Young’s Rebel Heart (coming in October). We’ve included highlights from the interview below…

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Young-adult novelist and book blogger Brittany Geragotelis has inked a deal with Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers to re-launch her self-published title, Life’s a Witch. In addition, Simon & Schuster will publish a sequel to the book and a prequel in three eBook installments.

The deal was negotiated by publisher Justin Chanda and Marsal Lyon Literary Agency’s Kevan Lyon. Senior editor Alexandra Cooper will edit. Geragotelis (pictured, via) released Life’s a Witch as a free serial eBook on Wattpad, drawing more than 18 million readers. She also published Life’s a Witch as a print-on-demand paperback book through CreateSpace/Amazon.

Here’s more from the release: “Simon & Schuster will follow up by publishing this prequel as a book in December 2012. Then Life’s a Witch will be relaunched in Fall 2013, and the sequel to Life’s a Witch will be published in Fall 2014.”

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Dr. Jill Biden, wife of vice president Joe Biden, landed a deal with Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for her picture book, Don’t Forget Nana, God Bless Our Troops. Publication is set for June.

Biden’s proceeds from the book will be donated to charity organizations that support military families. Williams & Connolly LLP attorney Robert B. Barnett negotiated the deal with publisher Jon Anderson. Paula Wiseman will edit the book.

Here’s more from the release: “Inspired by the real life experiences of the Biden family, Don’t Forget Nana, God Bless Our Troops will be told through the eyes of Vice President Joe and Jill Biden’s granddaughter, Natalie Biden. The story is inspired by Natalie’s life at home when her father was deployed. Natalie’s father, Beau Biden, is a Major in the Delaware Army National Guard and was deployed to Iraq for a year. Readers will follow Natalie’s experience as she learns to cope with missing her father and finds comfort in the kindness of members of her community, including teachers and neighbors, and the strength and pride that she and her mother and brother felt from being part of a military family.”

Simon & Schuster imprint Atria Books has acquired the English language rights for Le Second Souffle (Second Wind) by Philippe Pozzo di Borgo.

In 2001, Pozzo di Borgo published his memoir in his native France. The book inspired the 2011 French film adaptation titled Intouchables (Untouchables); the movie has become a big hit in France with almost 14 million ticket sales. Above, we’ve embedded the film’s theatrical trailer.

Here’s more from the release: “In Second Wind, Philippe recounts his story of being left a quadriplegic after a paragliding accident, which transformed him in an instant from an aristocratic business and social leader into a helpless and tragic figure, an ‘untouchable’ in contemporary society. Eventually, he hired an unlikely caregiver—an unemployed, hot-headed, uninhibited Algerian immigrant who turned out to be just as lost and lonely as Philippe, and who was instrumental in helping him return to the world of the living.”

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