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Executive Moves, Book
Deals and More Industry News
FROM PUBLISHING
TRENDS (DECEMBER 2002)
People
Simon & Schuster’s
various imprints have been trimmed over the past few
weeks: Rachel Klayman has been laid off from
The Free Press, Jeff Neuman has left S&S
(and may be reached at neudors@yahoo.com),
and Rosemary Ahern (who arrived from Dutton
less than two years ago), and Kim Kanner and
an assistant have departed WSP/Pocket Books.
Kris Kliemann has been named VP, Director of Global
Rights at Wiley. She had been Associate Publisher
at Fodor’s. In other Wiley news, Helen Witsenhausen
will be retiring after 20 years at the company.
. . . In children’s books, more turmoil as Random
House Children’s experiences a bout of layoffs in
its various imprints, with VP Marketing Andrew Smith
and 8 others in art and editorial leaving the company.
Daisy Kline was named as Smith’s successor. The
division will move to the new Random building on December
20th. The first group from 1540 Broadway just moved
over and the final stragglers will arrive in January.
Meanwhile, word is that Random is a potential bidder
for Houghton’s trade division, and is
rumored to be looking at a Japanese venture, possibly
with Kodansha. . . . Little, Brown Children’s
announces that Jennifer Hunt has been hired
as an Editor. She was at Lee and Low Books.
Bookspan has hired Linda Andersen, formerly
VP Marketing development at Columbia House, as Senior
VP, Marketing. She will report to Seth Radwell,
President of the Bookspan group. No news yet on the
new head of Children’s BOMC, but look for an announcement
in early December.
Harper
Design International has named Ali Kokmen as
Sales and Marketing Manager, reporting to Harriet
Pierce, Director of Sales and Marketing. He was
previously at Watson-Guptill, as was Pierce.
. . . Walt Bode has recently left Harcourt,
where he was Senior Editor.
Promotions
Lots of promotions at Random House: Libby McGuire
has been named Associate Publisher, Director of
Marketing of the Random House Trade Group, responsible
for overseeing all marketing, publicity, advertising,
and promotion for the group. Ivan Held, who previously
filled the dual role of Associate Publisher of the trade
group and Publisher of Random House Trade Paperbacks,
will now focus on the paperback program. And Crown
has promoted two executive editors. Kristin Kiser
is now Crown Editorial Director, while Becky Cabaza
is Editorial Director for Three Rivers.
December
Dates
On Wed., December 4, HarperCollins’ Larry Ashmead,
bookseller Roxanne Coady, PW’s Daisy
Maryles, Little, Brown’s Michael Pietsch,
and moderator Gayle Feldman will discuss
“Best and Worst of Times: Best Books vs. Bestsellers
in a Changing Business.” The event, which takes place
at Columbia Journalism School (Lecture Hall,
3rd Floor) at 116th and Broadway, is sponsored by the
National Arts Journalism Program at the Columbia Journalism
School, and co-sponsored by the Women’s Media Group.
C-Span will record the panel for later broadcast
on “Booknotes.” Admission is free; no RSVP is necessary.
Email Gayle Feldman at feldmang@aol.com
if you would like to pose a topic or question to be
discussed at the panel.
• On December 5 literary agent at Donadio
& Olson and man-about-town Ira Silverberg
will throw a 40th birthday event that will help
raise funds for The Council Of Literary Magazines
and Presses through a silent auction and donations.
The festivities will take place from 9pm - midnight
at Estate (formerly the Limelight, where Silverberg
once worked as the doorman of the “VIP Room”), at 6th
Avenue & 20th Street. Rsvp via
rsvp@clmp.org
or (212) 741-9110 x 18. Tax-deductible contributions
can be sent to: CLMP, 154 Christopher Street, Suite
3C, New York, NY 10014.
•
The Small Press Center hosts its annual Benefit
Cocktail Reception in honor of Mark Twain from
5:30-8 on December 5 at the Small Press Center. Tax
deductible tickets are $65. Call (212) 764-7021 for
details. On December 12 it will sponsor another workshop:
“Do It Yourself Design for Books and Websites.” Held
with the support of PW, the workshop takes place
between 6-8 pm, also at the Small Press Center on 20
W. 44th. For further information go to www.smallpress.org.
Duly
Noted
Crain’s New York
Business has published its annual “The Private 200”
list of top privately held companies in the New York
area (November 25 issue). Barnes & Noble’s
College stores are listed at #26, with revenues of $1.25
billion. Norton is the only book publisher listed,
at #174, and with revenues of $100 million, though Crain’s
admits the company did not fill out the survey.
Presumably Workman and Sterling never
got one.
•
Chris Kerr, commission rep and founder of Parson
Weems under the auspices of the venerable Association
of Book Travelers, organized a commemorative lunch
for Coliseum Books and its managers. Our correspondent
reports that former owner George Leibson is in
the throes of putting together a deal to reopen this
much missed bookstore formerly at Broadway and 57th
Street. What he really needs now is a youthful investor
who’s willing to work hard. Anyone with any ideas or
inclinations can reach Leibson at (212) 749-3833.
•
Mike Campbell, who has left Carlton and is
now an independent sales and marketing consultant, sends
PT the following report from the shores of Lake
Tahoe: “This year’s National Conference of the Publishers
Association of the West was held from Nov. 21 to
Nov. 23 at the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe. PubWest, which
began in 1977 as the Rocky Mountain Book Publishers
Association, has grown to a trade organization serving
over 200 mid-size publishers west of the Mississippi.
Holly Brady, Director of Stanford University’s
Professional Publishing Course, kicked off the weekend
with a review of the last decade’s “roller coaster ride.”
Miriam Bass from National Book Network joined
Marcella Smith from Barnes & Noble and
Dave Edinger from Books West to share
secrets of getting bigger advances at the chains, while
Bill Cartwright from Inland Press and
James Butcher from R.R. Donnelly looked
at evolving tools in production, including digital asset
management and print-on-demand. Other seminars covered
printing in Asia and managing authors through the publishing
process. Traffic was strong in the adjoining trade show,
perhaps because many feel that pennies saved with short-run
printing might make the difference in the current market.
Overall, attendees reported that these were tough times
indeed for the industry; the competition is fierce,
with it seems ever-fewer customers beating down the
door. Yet publishers such as Mike Jones at Wilderness
Press, Helen Cherullo at Mountaineers,
and Gibbs M. Smith reported hopes for a good
year overall.
•
Larry Ashmead, continuing his “farewell tour,” spoke
at the PAMA luncheon in November, and told this story,
edited for space: In 1977 when Lippincott merged
with Harper + Row, then-Publisher Ed Burlingame
told Ashmead to dump authors Patricia Highsmith
(whom Joan Kahn had originally bought), Dick
Francis, and Tony Hillerman. On Hillerman,
Burlingame said, “We are barely earning out a $3,000
advance and there’s no increment in sales. Get him off
Indians or off our list!” Ashmead concludes, “When Bill
Shinker came on board as a marketing genius he agreed
with me,” and the rest is publishing history.
Parties
& Events
November was a big month for anniversaries and
parties: The Literary Guild celebrated its 75th
anniversary at Bookspan’s annual party at the Waldorf
on November 6th, and AMS celebrated its 20th
anniversary at The New York Stock Exchange on November
7th. S&S had a big bash for Mary Higgins Clark
and daughter Carol at the New York Athletic Club on
November 20th — the night of the National Book Awards.
HarperCollins threw a party at Vue for the publication
of Michael Crichton’s Prey on Nov.
25.
Mazel
Tov
To Bloomberg Press’s
Sales & Marketing Director John Crutcher
and wife Beth on the November 19th birth of Kira
Evangeline.
Belated congrats to Riverhead’s Julie Grau
on her Venetian nuptials to Adam Stern, right after
Frankfurt.
©2002
Publishing Trends
