PEOPLE
CEO Marcus Leaver is leaving Sterling Publishers to become the new COO of Quarto in the UK, hired by Laurence Orbach, who has announced his retirement.
Editorial Director Jason Prince, Executive Editor Nathaniel Marunas and Editors Greg Oviatt and Stuart Miller, VP Operations Kim Brown, and VP Sales Karen Patterson have left Sterling. Theresea Thompson has been promoted to Executive VP at B&N and will be overseeing Sterling.
Alexander Star will join Farrar, Straus and Giroux as Senior Editor on April 2, from the New York Times Book Review, where he has been a Senior Editor. Previously, he worked at the New York Times Magazine as its Senior and then Deputy Editor. Prior to that, he was the Founding Editor of the Boston Globe Ideas section.
Former Macmillan President Brian Napack will join media private equity firm Providence Equity Partners as a Senior Advisor and will also join the board of educational software company Blackboard, Inc. Napack will look for new investment opportunities in education and media, and support the firm’s existing portfolio companies.” He left Macmillan at the end of 2011.
Martina Challis has been hired as Publisher at Hot Key Books in the UK, reporting to Managing Director Sarah Odedina, starting in early July. Challis is currently Publishing Director at Kingfisher UK.
Rachel Bressler, is joining The Park Literary Group as Executive Director,Corporate and Publisher Relations, beginning March 26th. She was VP, Associate Publisher, Ecco Books. Her successor has not been announced.
Author and Editor Rakesh Satyal has relocated to San Francisco to join Lexicon Branding. He was most recently a Senior Editor at HarperCollins.
Michelle Montague has joined Abrams, as Executive Director of Adult Marketing and Publicity, reporting to Mary Wowk, VP of Sales and Marketing. She was Executive Director of Advertising and Promotions at Simon & Schuster. Eric Klopfer has been promoted to Editor.
At Random House‘s Digital Channel and Marketplace Development Group, Lauren Monaco has been appointed VP, Director, Digital Channel and eCommerce Development. She was most recently VP Sales, National Accounts at S&S. Christine McNamara was named to the new position of VP, Director, Consumer Verticals & Partnerships; Jinny Kwon has been promoted to VP, Director, Design and Production.
Andrea Au Levitt has joined Reader’s Digest as a Senior Editor, acquiring and developing health and food books. She was projects director, Prevention Books at Rodale.
Carmen Johnson has joined Amazon Publishing New York as Associate Editor. She had been an Editorial Assistant at Knopf.
Digital Book World Community Relations Manager Matt Mullin has moved to Barnes & Noble in March as a Manager of Digital Content.
Nick Van Amburg has been appointed to the newly created position of VP of Marketing for Ruckus Media Group. He was previously with ngmoco, a mobile social gaming company, where he was Director of Product Marketing.
PEN American Center announced the election of Peter Godwin as its President. Godwin succeeds Kwame Anthony Appiah, who served as President for the last three years. The newly-elected and reelected officer trustees of the Board also include John Troubh, Executive Vice President; Ron Chernow, Vice President; Victoria Redel, Vice President; John Oakes, Treasurer; and Elinor Lipman, Secretary.
Peter Harper has been appointed SVP Americas of Guinness World Records, as well as heading up the New York City office. He was previously Executive Director of New Product Development within Time Home Entertainment.
Regina Hayes, President and Publisher of Viking Young Readers, will transition to Editor-at-Large this summer as she approaches her 30th year at the imprint. She will continue to work with a select group of authors.
Janklow & Nesbit Associates announced that Carlo Martinelli and Amanda Schweitzer have been hired to run an LA office they are opening to extend their services in the film, television and digital communities. Both came from Vuguru, Michael Eisner’s digital studio.
HarperCollins announced that Angela Tribelli has been appointed to the newly created position of Chief Marketing Officer, General Books Group. Tribelli, who comes from NYC & Company, will report to Michael Morrison, President & Publisher.
PROMOTIONS AND INTERNAL CHANGES
Gary Goldstein has been promoted to Executive Editor at Kensington, and Martin Biro has been promoted to Assistant Editor.
At Globe Pequot Press, Chris Grimm has been promoted to VP sales, managing national accounts, outdoor markets, and the distribution business across all GPP imprints.
Laura Perciasepe has been promoted to Editor for the Riverhead Books hardcover and paperback imprints. She has worked there for five years.
Simon & Schuster Children’s has announced multiple promotions in their marketing department to “both increase our marketing resources and focus them according to the various categories within which we publish,” president Jon Anderson wrote in a memo. Lucille Rettino has been promoted to VP, Director of Marketing; Elke Villa takes the new title of Associate Marketing Director, and reporting to Elke will be Chrissy Noh, promoted to Senior Marketing Manager. Julie Christopher also takes the new title of Associate Marketing Director, focusing on middle grade, novelty and licensing books, and reporting to her is Carolyn Swerdloff, promoted to Marketing Manager. Matt Pantoliano has been promoted to Senior Digital Marketing Manager, reporting to Rettino; Sooji Kim reports to Pantoliano in the new position of Digital Marketing Coordinator. Anderson says that “additional positions will be added to our expanded marketing department” in the coming weeks.
Holly Hunnicutt has been promoted to Deputy Director of Sub Rights for Macmillan Children’s.
Kevin Callahan has been promoted to Associate Publisher of It Books at HarperCollins, where he was Director of Marketing.
At Quirk Books, John J. McGurk has been promoted to the position of Director, Digital & Print Production.
Basic Books has made the following promotions: Cassie Dendurent Nelson has been promoted from Assistant Director to Associate Director. She has been with Basic since February 2008. Caitlin Graf has been promoted from Publicist to Senior Publicist. She has been with Basic since July 2010.
At Little, Brown Children’s, Elizabeth Bewley has been promoted to Senior Editor. She joined their Poppy imprint in 2008.
Billy Kingsland has been promoted to Managing Director at literary agency Kuhn Projects, “both an acknowledgment of his stellar ongoing work serving the agency’s clients as well as an expression of his growing role in the agency going forward.” Kingsland joined Kuhn Projects in 2004 after stints at William Morris and Russell & Volkening. He will oversee the day-to-day operations of the agency and continue to oversee the agency’s foreign rights and film and television rights, as well as all agency contracts.
Random House has promoted Jim Johnston (Worldwide Reporting & Planning), Mariella Molloy (Corporate Services), and Bill Sinnott (Payroll, Credit & Disbursements) to Senior Vice President.
Caryn Wiseman has been promoted to Senior Agent at Andrea Brown Literary Agency.
IN MEMORIAM
Bill Wright, former CEO of the Hearst Book Group and one-time COO of Random House, Inc. died at home on February 26. Wright took the position at Hearst in 1995. Prior to joining Random House in 1992, Wright was SVP of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group. Before that he was SVP of CBS Educational and Professional Publishing.
George Fisher, former VP, Director, Adult Mass Merchandise Sales for Random House, died on February 22 at the age of 60. In a 35 year career Fisher focused his sales efforts on non-bookstore markets at Warner Books and Pocket Books prior to joining Random House’s Ballantine sales division in 1990; he assumed responsibility in 1998 for all Random House mass merchandise sales.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Mar 28 – Apr 2, 2012
Abu Dhabi International Book Fair
Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Apr 14 – 16, 2012
Museum Store Association Conference & Expo
Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, New Orleans, LA
Apr 16 – 18, 2012
London Book Fair
Making Words Go Further.
Digital Minds Conference on April 15th.
Earls Court, London, UK
Apr 19 – May 7, 2012
Buenos Aires International Book Fair
La Rural, Predio Ferial de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Apr 25 – 26, 2012
Digital Kids
Formerly the Engage! conference and expo
Los Angeles, CA
