PEOPLE
Susan Reich is re-joining PGW where she had worked as VP Marketing from 1990 to 1995, in the role of President. Most recently she served as the President and COO of Avalon Publishing Group, one of PGW’s clients. She reports to David Steinberger. Reporting directly to Reich are Kevin Votel, Eric Kettunen, Roaxanne Schwartz, Sean Shoemaker and Kim Wylie (who will also have a dotted line reporting relationship to Matty Goldberg). In an unrelated announcement, Charlie Winton’s new publishing venture, Winton, Shoemaker & Co., LLC has acquired Soft Skull Press. The company will be renamed Counterpoint, LLC when the Soft Skull and previously announced acquisition of Counterpoint close in June. Soft Skull’s Publisher Richard Nash will be an Executive Editor at Counterpoint and Editorial Director of the Soft Skull imprint. Nash will be based in New York City. Meanwhile, Trish Hoard, Co-founder and Associate Publisher of Shoemaker & Hoard which was acquired by the group earlier this year, will now join SkyHorse Publishing as Managing Editor.
Peter Clifton, currently President & CEO of Ingram Periodicals Inc, International, Ingram Library Services, and Tennessee Book Company and Senior VP of Ingram Book Group, is leaving the company at the end of June. He can be reached at 615-424-4645 (cell), or 615-352-8038. His email address after June 30 is pclif@comcast.net [1].
HarperCollins has appointed Brenda Bowen to the newly created position of VP Publisher of a yet to be named imprint at HC Children’s Books. Bowen will report to President and Publisher Susan Katz.
Brian Belfiglio has joined Hilsinger-Mendelson East as Publicity Director. Most recently he was Marketing Director at Workman.
Although Hachette’s U.K.-based Octopus Publishing Group has acquired selected assets of MQ Publications, MQP Founder and Publisher Zaro Weil, who owns the MQP name and logo, plans to move to MQP’s New York office. Carol Judy Leslie, a former Publisher of Bulfinch Press, will join her at MQP USA.
Among the 280 people made redundant at Bookspan after Bertelsmann took over and merged it into its BMG division (see PT [2] April [2], May [3] 2007), is Christine Zikas (christinezikas@ yahoo.com [4]), Executive Editor of Madison Park Press. Prior to joining Bookspan, Zikas was a Senior Editor at Berkley.
Rebecca Oliver has joined Endeavor’s New York book division as a literary agent. She will oversee foreign and domestic subsidiary rights and work alongside Richard Abate. Oliver had been at Grand Central as Associate Director of Subsidiary Rights. . . . Emmanuelle Alspaugh has joined Wendy Sherman Associates as an agent. She was previously at The Creative Culture.
With the departure of Co-founder, Editor and Publisher, Shay Totten for Chelsea Green, The Vermont Guardian announced it had published its last edition.
Carol Roeder has been named Director of Publishing at Lucas Licensing. Previously she was VP, Consumer Products for VIZ Media, and prior to that she worked for S&S Children’s Publishing. . . Meanwhile Heidi North has accepted the position of Art Director for Simon Scribbles. She worked most recently at Sterling Publishing.
At Entertainment Rights, Deborah Dugan will have overall responsibility for the day-to-day running of the U.S. operations (including Canada), which encompasses Entertainment Rights U.S., Classic Media and Big Idea. Dugan was most recently at Disney.
Del Rey has hired Liz Scheier as Senior Editor. She was previously at NAL/Penguin. . . . . Holtzbrinck has hired Jaime Ariza as VP, Special Markets. He was most recently Director of Custom Publishing at S&S.
Simon Dessain, COO of Publishing Technology (formerly known as Vista) and former CEO of Ingenta, has announced his departure from the company, following the merger of the two companies earlier this year.
Mark Eastment has been named Publications Director at the V&A in London. He was Director of Sales and marketing for Antique Collectors’ Club in the UK and before that held a similar position with the Tate Gallery.
Zondervan announced its president and CEO, Doug Lockhart, has stepped down from his position effective June 1, 2007. Former long-time president and CEO, Bruce Ryskamp, who retired from Zondervan in 2005 but has remained in a consulting role, will return to serve as interim president and CEO.
Avalon Publicity Director Karen Auerbach is leaving at the end of June but will continue to freelance for Perseus through the end of the year. She can be reached at karenruthauerbach@ gmail.com [5].
Gary Krebs has joined Globe Pequot as Group Publisher, responsible for editorial functions across all imprints. He was brought in by former Adams Media colleague Scott Watrous.
Kathy Kiernan has left Black Dog & Leventhal. Judy Courtade recently went to BD&L as Sales Director. . . . Scott Haidle has joined Creative Publishing International as National Account Sales Manager in the home improvement channel.
Nicole Bond, previously at Random House, has been named Associate Director, Foreign Rights for Grand Central Publishing.
Liz Van Doren who left Harcourt during its recent cutbacks may now be reached at LEETS215@aol.com [6].
PROMOTIONS
Brian Murray has been promoted to the newly created position of President of HarperCollins Worldwide. In this new role he will work closely with Jane Friedman “identifying and directing the company’s worldwide growth.” Also at HarperCollins, Emily Takoudes, who came from S&S in May 2005, has been promoted to Senior Editor. She has edited for Ecco. Jennifer Brehl announced that Diana Gill has been promoted to Executive Editor for the Eos and William Morrow imprints. Christine Boyd, Director of Marketing for Harper, has been promoted to VP Marketing.
Sonny Mehta announced that Andrew Miller, Senior Editor at Vintage/Anchor, has been named Senior Editor at Knopf.
Tim Ditlow is giving up his position as VP and Publisher of Listening Library to become VP and publisher at large for Random House Audio Group, reporting to Madeline McIntosh. Amy Metsch has been promoted to the new role of Editorial Director for the Random House Audio Group.
At Free Press, Heidi Metcalfe has been promoted to Publicity Manager.
At S&S Children’s Brooke Linder has moved to Little Simon as Editor. Kimberly Lauber has been promoted to Marketing Associate, Education & Library. Greg Stadnyk has been promoted to Associate Art Director. Orli Zuravicky has been promoted to the position of Editor, Simon Spotlight.
Ashley Gordon at Lightning Source, Inc. will take on the role of Director of Channel Development, moving on from various positions in executive sales.
And at St. Martin’s, Nancy Trypuc has been promoted to Senior Director of Creative Services. Previously, she was Director of Advertising and Promotion.
JUNE EVENTS
The National Book Critics Circle has two events at BEA: Friday, June 1 in Room 1E06 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. “Ethics in Book Reviewing: The More Things Change…?” Carlin Romano moderates Christopher Hitchens, John Leonard, Francine Prose, Sam Tanenhaus, and David Ulin. On June 3 in Room 1E11 10:00 -11:00: “The Crisis in American Book Pages; Newspaper book reviews are in a state of change. Where are we going? Where have we been?” Also check out http://bookcriticscircle.blogspot.com/ [7]
DULY NOTED
Bloomsbury announces the launch of Bloomsbury Press, whose first list debuts in January 2008. Peter Ginna (who was previously at OUP), is its Publisher and Editorial Director, and its mission is to publish “the best serious nonfiction being written today.”
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The Small Press Center launched its new name and logo: “Our new name more accurately describes who we are,” said Lloyd J. Jassin, Chair of the New York Center for Independent Publishing (NYCIP) Executive Committee. Karin Taylor remains as Executive Director. Go to www. Nycip.org [8] for details. Phone, fax and email will remain the same.
ON THE MOVE
As a result of WRC Media parent company’s acquisition of The Reader’s Digest Association, Weekly Reader and its sister companies have been merged into Reader’s Digest and its offices will be located at 1 Reader’s Digest Road, Pleasantville, NY 10570. . . . Book Industry Study Group, Inc. (BISG) has moved to 370 Lexington Ave. (between 40th and41st) Suite 900 New York, NY 10017. . . . Disney Publishing Worldwide is moving to White Plains. The publishing division, currently in offices at 114 Fifth Avenue in New York, is relocating 175 of the division’s 225 employees to the new location. Twenty editorial staffers from Disney Press, Hyperion Books for Children and Disney Editions will remain in Manhattan relocating to a “midtown location near Grand Central.” The move is scheduled to get underway in October and be completed by December. . . . Archipelago Books has moved to 232 Third Ave. #A111, Brooklyn NY 11215. The phone and fax will remain the same, Phone: (718) 852-6134, Fax: (718) 852-6135. .