People
The West Coast is in the news: Kirsty Melville, previously Publisher of Ten Speed Press, has become Publisher of the new book division of University Games. The new Publisher of Ten Speed is Lorena Jones. … Kevan Lyon, EVP for Wholesale Merchandising/Distribution (including PGW) at AMS, has left the company. Her duties were being handled by AMS interim CEO Charles Tillinghast, who steps down to a consulting role, as CFO Bruce Myers assumes the position of CEO on Nov. 12. … Jim De Vico has been named Director of Operations for TOKYOPOP Inc.
Janet Harris, most recently Publisher of Storey, is rejoining Workman in the newly created position of Calendar Publisher. She will be working in the New York office full time as of Jan. 1st.
One-year-old Hylas Publishing has hired as its EVP/COO f-stop Fitzgerald who comes from Avalon, where he was Senior Director Operations (new email: fstop@hylaspublishing.com). Sean Moore, who was most recently at Dorling Kindersley, is its Founder and Publisher. Joyce Stein joined Hylas earlier this summer as Director of Marketing and Public Relations.
Reed Business Information named Bill McGorry EVP and Publisher of its Publishing Group, which includes PW, Library Journal, School Library Journal and Criticas. Joe Tessitore, who held this position for two years, has left the company and may be reached at (914) 238-2979 or at Southfork2000@aol.com.
Elizabeth Eulberg joins Little, Brown Books for Young Readers as Director of Publicity. Eulberg worked at Scholastic, most recently as Associate Director of Publicity. … Mike Campbell has been named Director of Sales & Marketing for Timber Press. He was most recently with Barron’s. … Tom Lovett, former Divisional Sales Director for Random House has joined Johns Hopkins University Press as Sales Director.
Susan Lehman has left Riverhead, where she was an editor, to finish a book she has been writing. She may be reached at lehman@well.com or (212) 996-3107. … Lisa Considine, Senior Editor at Holt, where she has been since late 2003, has left the company. She was previously at Wiley and S&S. … Holly Rothman has left Rizzoli for packager/publisher Melcher Media, where she will be an editor.
Caroline Miller, former Editor of New York Magazine (and wife of Abrams’ Eric Himmel) has landed at a start-up magazine called Absolute New York, an extension of the Absolute Marbella brand.
Kylie Foxx has been named Senior Editor at Marlowe & Company/Avalon. She had been an editor at Black Dog & Leventhal. … Elissa Altman has joined Rodale as Senior Home and Garden Editor in the women’s health book group. She was formerly the Editor-in-Chief at The Taunton Press. Beth Lamb has joined the company as Director of Marketing. She was Publishing Manager for Kaplan Publishing at S&S.
Promotions
Sandee Roston has been promoted to Associate Publisher of the Avalon Group. She was previously Director or Marketing. At Marlowe/Avalon Sue McCloskey has been promoted to the position of Editor. Patti Kelly has been named a VP of HarperCollins Publishers. Kelly joined HarperCollins in June 2000, and is Director of Publicity for HarperCollins, HarperPerennial, Ecco, Fourth Estate, Rayo, and Amistad.
November Events
On Nov. 10, NYT “Style Section” columnist Bob Morris presents a “reading of a new musical solo,” based on his new book, The Aspirational Renter. The accompanist is none other than Miramax Publisher Jonathan Burnham at the piano, and proceeds benefit Dixon Place, a “laboratory for theatre, dance, literature & performance.” The show takes place at 7:30 p.m. at The Marquee at Marion’s, 356 Bowery at E. 4th St. For reservations, call (212) 219-0736 ext. 106.
• The Council of Literary Magazines & Presses (CLMP) presents A GOOD SPELL, a benefit spelling bee, at 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 15 at NYU’s Bobst Library, 70 Washington Square South. Tickets, which are tax-deductible, are $75 and may be purchased online or by calling (212) 741-9110 ext. 16. OED’s Jesse Sheidlower is the judge and spellers include Tama Janowitz, Alex Kuczynski, Adam Haslett, NY Post’s Sara Nelson, and many more. There will be a betting pool on the winner. Go to www.clmp.org for further information and tickets.
• Also on Nov. 15, the 2004 Thurber Prize for American Humor will be awarded at — where else — the Algonquin Hotel. Andy Borowitz and Claire Cook are co-emcees. For information call (814) 464 1032 ext. 11 or go to www.thurberhouse.org.
• The National Book Foundation will host its 55th Annual National Book Awards on Nov. 17 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel. Garrison Keillor will host the awards, and Judy Blume will receive the 2004 NBF Award for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. For information call (212) 685-0261.
• The Goddard Riverside 18th annual Book Fair runs Nov. 20-21, with a kickoff party on Friday, Nov. 19, from 6-9 p.m. at Goddard Riverside Community Center, 593 Columbus Avenue @ 88th Street. For more information contact astrothers@goddard.org. In a related fund-raising event, Bruce Harris will be honored on Nov. 8 at the Harmonie Club. Special guests for the event include Ken Auletta and Harry Evans. Tickets for this and other “Meet the Author” dinners are available by contacting Susan Baydur at (212) 873-6600 ext. 215, or sbaydur@goddard.org.
• If you’re looking for an event down South, The Miami Book Fair begins with the “congress of authors” on Nov. 7 and culminates with a street fair Nov. 12-14. The event is hosted by Miami- Dade College. Go to miamibookfair.com for a schedule of events and participating authors and publishers.
Duly Noted
Quarto Group has changed the name of its Rockport Publishers unit to
the Quayside Publishing Group and announced that all distribution for
the group will be handled by Creative Publishing International, which was acquired by Quarto in July, from F&W. In addition to CPi, the newly named Quayside group includes the Rockport Publishers imprint, Fair Winds Press, Quarry Books and the U.K.-based RotoVision. CPi’s Director of Sales Kevin Haas will handle all sales for the whole group.
Parties
The Harold Ober Agency celebrated its 75th anniversary appropriately at the Century Club, on Oct. 21. Present were the ghosts of past authors (F. Scott Fitzgerald’s granddaughter, Paul Gallico’s widow) and the very real authors of the present and future, as well as their acquiring editors: Amy Goldman with Artisan’s Anne Bramson, Stephanie Cowell and Viking’s Carole de Santi, Elizabeth Dewberry and Harcourt’s Ann Patty all happily presided over by Phyllis Westberg, Emma Sweeney and recently arrived Don Laventhall.
• The Whiting Writers’ Awards were announced on Oct. 28 at the Celeste Bartos Forum of the New York Public Library. Edna O’Brien was the guest speaker. Ten writers, Daniel Alarcon, Kirsten Bakis, Catherine Barnett, Dan Chiasson, Allison Glock, Elana Greenfield, A. Van Jordan, Victor LaValle, John Jeremiah Sullivan, and Tracey Scott Wilson each received $35,000. The writers’ awards have been presented since 1985. For details go to www.whitingfoundation.org.
Mazel Tov
Congratulations to publicist Rose Marie Morse and playwright Bernard Pomerance (Elephant Man), who were wed on Sept. 1.
