People Round-Up, Early November 2015

PEOPLE

Libby McGuire will step down as EVP and Publisher at Ballantine Bantam Dell at the end of 2015. She can be reached at lmcguire000@gmail.comEditor’s Note: Update added to the original post on 11/6.

Millicent Bennet is now Executive Editor at Grand Central Publishing. She was previously Senior Editor at Simon & SchusterEditor’s Note: Update added to the original post on 11/6.

Craig Young rejoined Hachette Book Group as Deputy Publisher of Little, Brown. The position was previously held by Heather Fain, who will now focus entirely on her other role as SVP, Director of Market Strategy while also joining the Executive Management Board. Young was most recently VP, Associate Publisher at Ecco and was Sales Director at Little, Brown before that.

Mark Gompertz joined Skyhorse Publishing as Group Editorial Director. He was previously Creative Director, Content Extensions at Hearst Magazines.

Lindley Boegehold joined Clarkson Potter as Editorial Director, overseeing the Potter gift line. She was previously Editorial Director of Calendars, License, and Custom Publishing at Abrams. 

Additionally at Penguin Random House, Random House VP, Executive Editor David Ebershoff has left the imprint after more than 20 years to focus on his own writing. Sophie Vershbow joined Penguin Random House as Publicity Social Media Manager. She was Digital Content Strategist at Verbal + Visual.

Priscilla McGeehon joined Thames & Hudson as Publisher of the textbook division. She was most recently Publisher at Bloomsbury imprint Fairchild Books.

becker&mayer! Co-Founder Jim Becker retired from the company. Mike Oprins will continue to oversee the 30-year-old company.

In children’s publishing, Sophia Pestun rejoined Scholastic Trade as Senior Financial Analyst. She was most recently Associate at Standard & Poor’s, and before that held various positions at Scholastic for three years. Suzanne Lagasa joined as Senior Designer. She was previously Designer at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. . . Georgia Morrissey joined Time Inc. Books as Art Director, Children’s and Beth Sutinis joined as Executive Editor, Children’s. Morrissey was most recently Art Director at Sky Pony Press and Sutinis was a freelance consultant at Time Inc. Books.

Joan Lee joined Insight Editions as Director of Marketing. Additionally, Kelly Reed joined as Senior Editor. Lee was most recently Senior Marketing Manager at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers and Reed was Senior Acquisitions Editor at Ulysses Press.

Gregory Henry joined Regan Arts as Assistant Publicity Director. He was Senior Publicity Manager at HarperCollins. Additionally, Gwyneth Stansfield joined as Publicity Manager. She was Senior Publicist at Scribner.

Paul Lamb joined William Morrow as Marketing Manager. He was a Literary Agent at Howard Morhaim Literary Agency.

Jen Keenan joined Little, Brown Books for Young Readers as Senior Designer.

Caroline Nitz joined Graywolf Press as Publicist. She was previously Publicist at Henry Holt. Additionally Casey O’Neil joined as Sales and Marketing Manager. She was Marketing Associate at Milkweed Editions.

Zachary Greenwald joined Artisan Books as Managing Editor. He was most recently Digital Product Manager at HarperCollins.

Jennifer Mishler is now Editor at Entangled Publishing. She was previously Literary Agent at Literary Counsel.

At literary agencies, Mitch Hoffman will join Aaron Priest Literary Agency as Senior Agent at the end of November. He was Executive Editor at Grand Central Publishing. . . Adriann Ranta joined Foundry Literary + Media as Literary Agent. She brings her clients from Wolf Literary Services with her. . . Michelle Brower joined Kuhn Projects and Zachary Shuster Harmsworth as Agent. She was previously Agent at Folio Literary Management. Lori Galvin also joined Zachary Shuster Harmsworth as Agent, based in their Boston office. She was Executive Editor at America’s Test Kitchen. . . Mandy Hubbard has left D4EO Literary Agency to form Emerald City Literary Agency, which will focus on middle grade, YA, and romance.

Author Aimee Nezhukumatahil joined Orion as Poetry Editor.

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International Bestsellers, October 2015

Every month, Publishing Trends runs fiction international bestsellers lists from four territories–France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. This month, our four regular territories are joined by two more: Australia and United Arab Emirates. Those books that have been published in English are listed with their official English-language title. All others are translated as literally as possible from the original. Where applicable, the US publisher is listed after the local publisher, separated by a “/”. The lists are taken from major newspapers or national retailers, which are noted at the bottom of each list.

BestsellerOct2015.France2

BestsellerOct2015Germany2

 

BestsellerOctItaly2015
BestsellerOct2015Spain

BestsellerOct2015Australia

 

BestsellerOct201UAE

Top 5 Publishing Articles/Blog Posts of the Week 10/26-10/30

number_5_redEvery week, we recommend 5 publishing articles/blog posts that supplement the major news for the week. Whether data or industry commentary, we hope these 5 links will be a simple way to keep you in the know.

What can editors do to foster more diversity in publishing, according to one PEN America roundtable?

Why do hotels want to provide books for their guests?

Should literary journals charge fees for submissions?

According to a Women’s Media Group panel, what are the latest trends in young adult publishing?

What paradoxes are libraries facing while trying to remain relevant in a digital world?

Top 5 Publishing Articles/Blog Posts of the Week 10/19-10/23

number_5_redEvery week, we recommend 5 publishing articles/blog posts that supplement the major news for the week. Whether data or industry commentary, we hope these 5 links will be a simple way to keep you in the know.

Publishers Weekly’s Annual Salary report is out, showing the industry still as predominately white and young.

How did Amazon become one of the largest publishers of translated literature?

What does the modern-day book tour look like?

What’s the real reason ebook sales have leveled out?

Fewer Americans are reading books, but which demographic is reading less?

People Round-Up, Mid-October 2015

PEOPLE

The NY Post reports that Scott Schulman is leaving his position as President of Rodale after two years. President and CEO Maria Rodale will be taking “a more active role” going forward.

In children’s publishing, Jevon Bolden joined Scholastic as Senior Editor, Tangarine Press and Scholastic Book Fairs. She was previously Senior Acquisitions Editor at Charisma House.  Elissa Tomasetti was named SVP, Marketing for Scholastic Education. She was most recently VP, B2C Communities at Pearson Education. . . Elizabeth Peskin joined Random House Children’s as Production Supervisor. She was previously Production Associate at Abrams. . . Robyn Burwell joined Zonderkidz as Acquisitions Editor and Kevin Traub as Senior Marketing Director for Kidz Bibles and Storybook Bibles. Burwell was Acquisitions Editor for HarperCollins Christian Publishing and Traub was Children’s Product Buyer at Family Christian Stores.

Phoebe Kosman is now Assistant Director of Marketing, Publicity and Events at Candlewick Press. She was previously Publicity Manager at Harvard University Press.

Lisa Cheng joined Hay House as Senior Editor. She was previously Senior Editor at Running Press.

Erin Kottke left her position as Publicity Director at Graywolf Press. She can be reached at erin.kottke@gmail.com.

Simon & Schuster Director of Paper Purchasing and Inventory Management Ann Ralph will retire at the end of October. Christian Grzancic has been named Senior Manager, Paper Purchasing and Inventory.

Molly Templeton is now Publicist at Tor.com. She was Events Director at WORD Bookstores.  Meanwhile, Ally-Jane Grossan was named Event/PR Director at WORD. She was Commissioning Editor of Popular Music, Sound Studies, and Politics at Bloomsbury USA.

Corrina Lesser joined Scripps as Director of Public Events and Community Programs. She was Director of Programming at Chicago Humanities Festival.

Heidi Hess Saxton became Editorial Director of the Servant imprint of Franciscan Media. She was Acquisitions Editor at Ave Maria Press.

Meanwhile, Lisa M. Hendey joined Ave Maria Press as Editor-at-Large. She is the Founder and Editor of CatholicMom.com.

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The 2015 Book Distributors Profiles

Publishing Trends has assembled an updated version of our annual book distribution chart. This year’s list includes 25 companies total, with the addition of Cardinal Publishers Group.  Of the 25, 14 are publishers with a distribution arm and 11 are distribution-only companies.  The trend of including digital distribution continues with 23 of the companies now offering digital services, up from 22 last year.

We welcome your feedback to help make it more accurate and comprehensive. Please click the link below to download a PDF of this year’s Book Distributors Profiles and Contact Sheet.

distributor profiles 2015 final jpeg

Click on the image of the chart above for a full PDF version of the 2015 Distributor Profiles and Contact Sheet.

Top 5 Publishing Articles/Blog Posts of the Week 10/12-10/16

number_5_redEvery week, we recommend 5 publishing articles/blog posts that supplement the major news for the week. Whether data or industry commentary, we hope these 5 links will be a simple way to keep you in the know.

Is epub the standard ebook format that publishers wanted, or is it a rapidly fading fad?

Is Amazon to blame for low author wages?

How is the definition of a publisher evolving?

Why are traditionally published authors opting to self-publish?

What makes bookstores different from record stores?

Top 5 Publishing Articles/Blog Posts of the Week 10/5-10/9

number_5_redEvery week, we recommend 5 publishing articles/blog posts that supplement the major news for the week. Whether data or industry commentary, we hope these 5 links will be a simple way to keep you in the know.

Has ebook technology stopped evolving?

Why do celebrity memoirs sell to publishers for so much?

What’s the appropriate length of time for a copyright to last?

Does the business model for the academic journal need updating?

How do ebooks help backlist titles?

Top 5 Publishing Articles/Blog Posts of the Week 9/28-10/2

number_5_redEvery week, we recommend 5 publishing articles/blog posts that supplement the major news for the week. Whether data or industry commentary, we hope these 5 links will be a simple way to keep you in the know.

Why are blurbs for books still so important?

How can we make sense of the current digital book trends discussed in last week’s New York Times article?

Is banned books week still necessary?

Have authors become the gatekeepers in publishing, replacing publishers, retailers, libraries, and media outlets.

How do Nigerian booksellers continue to bring in customers?

People Round-Up, Early October 2015

PEOPLE

Paul Slavin is now President of Open Road Integrated Media. He was most recently EVP, CEO of Everyday Health.

Hannah Gouldstone joined Simon & Schuster as Director of Integrated Marketing, overseeing simonsays and the company’s online learning platform. Previously, she was Founder and CEO at Clever Goats Media.

Additionally at Simon & Schuster, Ira Silverberg is now Senior Editor. He was most recently Literature Director at the National Endowment for the Arts.

Lorin Stein rejoined Farrar Straus and Giroux as Editor-at-Large, editing four to eight books. He will continue to work as Editor of the Paris Review full time. Before joining the Paris Review in 2010, Stein worked at Farrar Straus for 12 years.

David Nussbaum is now CEO of America’s Test Kitchen. He was most recently CEO and Chairman of F+W Media.

Mary Gatsch was named CEO of Springer, succeeding Ted Nardin, who is retiring after 10 years with the company. Gatsch was VP, Global Medical Reference Unit at Elsevier.

Guy Gonzalez joined The Reading Room as VP, Audience Development. Previously, he was Director of Content Strategy and Audience Development at Library Journals, LLC.

Emily Griffin is now Executive Editor at Harper. She was Senior Editor at Grand Central.

Amanda Aleskey is now Marketing and Publicity Manager at Perseus. She was Marketing Coordinator at Knopf.

In children’s publishing, Lauren Burniac joined Disney Publishing Worldwide as Senior Editor. She was previously Editor at the Macmillan imprints Square Fish and Feiwell and Friends. . . Joy Bean joined Little Bee Books as Senior Editor. She was Editor at Marshall Cavendish.

At literary agencies, Tom Miller joined Carol Mann Agency as Literary Agent Affiliate. He was Agent at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. . . Anjali Singh joined Aysha Pande Literary Agency as Agent of Fiction, Nonfiction, YA, and Graphic Novels. She was previously Editorial Director at Other Press.

Judy McDonough joined Thomas Nelson as Director of Publicity, W Publishing Group. She most recently ran her own independent PR firm, JEMMedia.

At university presses, Cathy Felgar is now Director of Editing, Design, and Production at Columbia University Press. Previously, she was Publishing Operations Director at HarperCollins. . . Sarah Miller joined Yale University Press as Editor for Language, Literature, and the Performing Arts.

Eric Salo joined Baker Academic and Brazos Press as Project Editor.

Karen Anderson is now Acquisitions Editor at Morgan James Publishing.

At Rittenhouse Book Distributors, Lori Anderson is now West Coast Institutional and Digital Territory Manager and Laura Duray is Strategic Marketing and Promotions Manager.

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