PEOPLE Scholastic has named Jenny Frost as ePublisher and SVP, eBook Strategy. She has been consulting since leaving Crown Publishing Group, where she was President and Publisher, in January 2010. Sara Nelson, book editor for O, The Oprah Magazine, is moving to Amazon where she will be Editorial Director, Amazon.com Books. The press release announces that Nelson “will be leading…Continue Reading
PEOPLE Macmillan President, Brian Napack, has left the company, where he had also served as Chairman and CEO of Scientific American. He will announce plans early in 2012. Also at Macmillan, Kingfisher has hired Brian Buerkle as Associate Publisher, Director of Marketing, replacing Angus Killick who has been named VP, Associate Publisher, Macmillan Children’s. Buerkle…Continue Reading
PEOPLE As widely reported over the last month, while BN.com staffs up, layoffs continue at both Barnes & Noble and Borders. About 40 people were let go from Barnes & Noble recently, including Bob Wietrak, Lee Stern, Marcella Smith, Mo Stewart, and buyers Dan Mayer, Dave Hathaway, and Kim Corradini. At Borders, just after New…Continue Reading
They’re not yet ubiquitous on the subway. And the “paperless office” is still a dream at this point. Our second annual industry survey of industry professionals found that 70% of respondents had never read an e-book. It’s unlikely that entry-level employees will receive shiny new Sony Readers with their company handbooks any time soon. Still,…Continue Reading
PEOPLE Sales was where the action was this past month, with big changes at Random House, S&S, Abrams and elsewhere. Mary Wowk, Director of World Wide Sales at Black Dog & Leventhal, has been appointed VP, Sales of HNA, which includes Abrams, STC and distributed lines. In a separate announcement, Katrina Weidknecht has been appointed…Continue Reading
PEOPLE Two editors whose last names are singular enough to identify them immediately, made major moves this month. Moments after leaving Random House, where he was Editor in Chief of Little Random, Jon Karp has gone to Warner to start his own imprint, Warner Twelve. And Peter Osnos announced that he will step aside as…Continue Reading
Now that we’ve all got our Bob the Builder lunch boxes stuffed with Bob’s licensed fruit snacks, die-cast play tools, and special-edition Playdoh, it may come as no surprise that this beloved British handyman is now broadcast in 140 countries. Or that Sears has set up Bob boutiques in 850 stores across the US. Or…Continue Reading
There may have been no mega-hit property at this year’s Licensing 2002 International show — notwithstanding the media hootenanny over Lemony Snicket — but even in this somewhat gun-shy climate, which saw licensing industry retail sales dip 4% last year, deals were being dialed up at the Javits Center on June 11-13. First in line,…Continue Reading
PEOPLE Layoffs are the order of the day, though mergers, not the economy, seem to be the main reason. DK has laid off about 25 people, with more to come. Meanwhile, the move down to Hudson Street has been postponed, apparently as a cost-savings measure. No word yet on Phyllis Grann’s plans, though Random House…Continue Reading
Every publishing career follows a narrative arc. For some, it’s the Proustian ebb of Swann’s Way. For others, it’s Finnegans Wake. And the most gripping career stories tend to be those that jump out of the genre altogether. As conversations with a dozen book-world veterans show, life after publishing does exist, and what’s more, there’s…Continue Reading
