You just know a foreigner was responsible for scheduling Hachette Book Group’s upcoming summit for editors and executives at the Battery Park Ritz Carlton Hotel, which will start this Sunday evening, with a welcome ceremony that overlaps with the Super Bowl, and end on Tuesday night, when N.Y.C. primary polls will be closing.
Top editors from Hachette’s much-larger U.K. branch are flying over for the event, which, according to Hachette U.S.A. CEO David Young, is intended to give editors a chance to talk about the differences between the American and British book markets and also to discuss what the two have in common. Editors from Grand Central Publishing, Little, Brown and other Hachette houses will eat dinner together and drink cocktails, as well as listen to and participate in panel discussions, one of which, according to a source, will feature literary agents Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, Sloan Harris, Tina Bennett and Kim Witherspoon and be emceed by publishing industry guru Michael Cader.
Mr. Young, who is British, said he wasn’t aware of the scheduling conflicts when he and his fellow organizers set the dates for the summit six months ago. Regarding the primaries, he said, “That wouldn’t be on my radar, I’m afraid. … I don’t vote here and I have a great deal of sympathy with the Boston Tea Party people as a result, with the taxes I pay.” This is not, however, the first time Mr. Young has made a calendar-related miscalculation. Back in December, a Hachette source said, he scheduled Hachette U.S.A.’s annual companywide meeting for the first night of Hanukkah. The source added that Mr. Young was very apologetic when the Hanukkah issue was brought to his attention.
It’s unclear whether the conference will end early enough on Tuesday for people to get to polling places before they close at 9 p.m., but Mr. Young said he assumed those set on voting will use absentee ballots. “This date has been set for a long time, and I assume people have made arrangements,” he said.
As for the Super Bowl on Sunday night, well—can’t exactly mail that one in.
Cindy Eagan, the editor in chief of Hachette’s teen books imprint Poppy, said she wasn’t aware of the overlap until yesterday. “Oh, my God! Holy cannoli!” she said upon realizing that she might miss the game. “What’re we gonna do? I gotta watch the Pats!”
Even the Brits who are flying over for the summit are a little concerned: “I hope I can watch it,” said Alan Samson, who is a high-level editor at Hachette U.K. “I’m very keen on the Super Bowl.”
