HBG Big News This Week: December 17-21, 2018

Following is a recap of major news at Hachette Book Group for the week of December 17-21, 2018:

Bestseller highlights: HBG has 13 books on the New York Times list this week. Our distribution clients has one #1—Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Meltdown (Amulet), holds onto the #1 slot on the Children’s Series list. HBG also has 13 books on the USA Today list. See attached recap for all of HBG’s titles on the NYT, USA Today, and ABA Indie bestseller lists.

FT Person of the Year: George Soros, the author of ten books on the PublicAffairs list, has been chosen by the Financial Times as their Person of the Year. The Financial Times writes that their “choice of Person of the Year is usually a reflection of their achievements. In the case of Mr Soros this year, his selection is also about the values he represents…For more than three decades, Mr Soros has used philanthropy to battle against authoritarianism, racism and intolerance…”  The news was covered in The Hill and the Daily Mail (UK).

Patterson Philanthopy: The Associated Press announced this week the recipients of James Patterson’s 2018 Indie Bookseller Bonus Program: 333 independent bookstore employees received bonuses totaling $250,000. Patterson partnered for the fifth year in a row with the American Booksellers Association to distribute the funds, which were granted in the amount of $750 to individual booksellers. The AP’s announcement was picked up by The Washington Post, Houston Chronicle, The Miami Herald, Sun Herald, and many more.