Publishing News

People in Publishing

January 19-26, 2006 Edition PEOPLE IN PUBLISHING Powers Joins DK as Marketing Director

NEW YORK, NY/1/4/06—Judi Powers has been named director of marketing and publicity for DK Publishing, Inc. She was formerly with Viking Penguin, as associate director of publicity. Earlier in her career, she was marketing director at Walker & Company. At Viking, she recently worked on promotion for bestselling authors Sue Monk Kidd, Andrea Mitchell, and Dava Sobel.

J.K. Rowling Reveals Her Post–Harry Potter Plans

NEW YORK, NY/1/19/06—J.K. Rowling, the wildly successful author of the Harry Potter series, told the London Telegraph in an interview last week that her next book will be a “political fairy story” aimed at younger children. Rowling said the book is already completed, but gave no other details other than the fact that it features a monster. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince sold more than 7 million copies in the U.S. last year.

Rowling has already completed the final chapter of the final book in the Potter series, and has locked it in a safe. The remainder of the book she says she will finish this year.

Ted Kennedy Become Kids’ Book Author

NEW YORK, NY/1/17/06—US Senator Ted Kennedy has written a children’s book, My Senator and Me: A Dogs-Eye View of Washington, D.C., featuring his Portuguese water dog Splash as his co-protagonist. The book will be released in May by Scholastic, Inc.

“I am excited about the opportunity to create a book for young readers and their families that will deepen their understanding of how our American government works,” Kennedy said in a statement issued by Scholastic.

According to Scholastic, Kennedy’s book “not only takes readers through a full day in the Senator’s life, but also explains how a bill becomes a law.” Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, was inspired to write the book from his work with a Washington-based reading program, “Everybody Wins!”

Kennedy’s net proceeds will be donated to charity. Ted Kennedy’s book is 56 pages and includes illustrations by David Small, winner of the 2001 Caldecott Medal for his pictures in Judith St. George’s So You Want to Be President?