Every 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.
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Be sure to check out Publishing Trends thoughts on newsletters here!
Every 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.
How 2024 Became the Year of Audiobooks
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Will Eliminating the Department of Education Help Children’s Literacy Scores?
England Provides a Phonics Check for Children Should the US Join?
PEOPLE
(This is a summary of moves that have taken place over the last month.)
At Simon & Schuster, Melissa Vogan has joined Simon Spotlight as senior editor. She was most recently editor and content manager at Epic for Kids. Shannon Rygg has joined the children’s digital marketing team as assistant marketing manager. She was most recently social media & digital marketing associate at Union Square & Co. (now part of Hachette).
At Hachette, Michael Pietsch, former CEO and then chairman, ended his 33 year long career at the company on December 31st. Nan Rittenhouse, former publicist at Simon Element, joins Grand Central Publishing as senior publicist.
At Macmillan, Kaitlyn Cullen has joined as trade sales associate. Anna Skudlarek is joining Macmillan Audio as associate marketing manager of social media and advertising. She was previously a marketing associate at Algonquin Books. Heather Follette has joined as executive assistant. Sarah Vogel has joined as junior payroll associate.
Penguin Random House: Megan Evans, previously events and consumer engagement manager at Abrams Books, has joined Random House Children’s Books as marketing manager. Havilah Sciabbarrasi has joined Random House Books for Young Readers as editorial assistant. Ten Speed Press has Dena Rayess as editor, she was previously associate editor at Chronicle Books.
At Scholastic, Doris Allen, formerly senior sales associate at HarperCollins, has joined as district sales manager. Amanda Book, formerly associate marketing manager Laurence King Publishing, has joined as young adult associate marketing manager.
Sourcebooks, Patience Bramlett has joined as senior production editor. Jianna Castellano has joined as marketing assistant. Tracey Bozentka has joined as national accounts manager. Kate Leboff has joined as quality assurance lead. Michelle Wozny has joined as senior production designer. Annette Mims has joined as senior marketing and publicity associate. Kate Riley has joined as a marketing and publicity assistant. Emily Janakiram has joined as publicity manager.
Feminist Press: executive director and publisher Margot Atwell will step down in February after three years with the press. She will continue to edit select projects, and the company is conducting a nationwide search for her successor.
USA Today, Clare Mulroy has joined as the paper’s new book reporter.
As reported in December, Phaidon Press, Bob Miller became CEO of Phaidon Press and its affiliated companies The Monacelli Press and Artspace on January 1, 2025. Until the end of July, he was president of Flatiron Books, which he founded in 2013. He took over from Keith Fox, who announced in November that he would step down at the end of the year.
At Chronicle Books, Jenny Goodman Abrami returns to the company as executive director of global sales, overseeing all trade, mass market, and specialty sales teams in the US. Most recently she was VP, sales & strategy at Sasquatch Books, and associate publisher of the Little Bigfoot imprint. Abrami will report to VP of sales, Kim Anderson. Amanda Weirich joins in the newly created position of director of international sales and subsidiary rights, reporting to Abrami.
Carter Hasegawa, senior editor of Candlewick Press has left and can be contacted at carterhasegawa@gmail.com.
Logos Press: Stacy Masucci, formerly publisher of bioscience, translational medicine, psychology and neuroscience at Elsevier, has joined Logos as director, publisher relations & rights. Stacy can be contacted at stacy.masucci@logos.com.
At Big River Consulting, Meredith Baker, founder, retired effective 01/03/2025.
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In Agency News…
Trident Media Group has promoted Mark Owen Gottlieb to senior vice president; he will continue to serve as literary agent.
Sterling Lord Literistic, president and later chair of the agency Peter Matson has retired after six decades in publishing. He established his firm, Literistic, in 1979 and then acquired Sterling Lord Literistic in 1987.
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PROMOTIONS
Hachette has promoted Madeline Jones to senior editor at Algonquin. Jovanna Brinck has been promoted to assistant editor. Hachette Audio has promoted Kim Sayle to senior vice president and deputy publisher. Ana Maria Allessi has been promoted to president and publisher.
At Penguin Random House, Todd Doughty has been promoted to senior vice president, deputy publisher, publicity and communications. In his expanded role, he will take on additional responsibilities of overseeing subrights, with Suzanne Smith. Estel Corriveau has been promoted to retail advertising associate.
Catherine O’Mara has been promoted to senior marketing manager at Random House Children’s Books. Megan Mitchell has been promoted to assistant marketing director. Mariana Batista has been promoted to marketing associate at Random House Children’s Books. Tara Grieco has been promoted to assistant director. Lauren Adams has been promoted to director of marketing and licensed and proprietary brands. Cleo Papadopoulos has been promoted to production associate.
Erin Reilly will be promoted to VP, adult mass merchandise & distributor sales as of February 1, 2025. Her portfolio will expand to include all adult mass merchandise classes of trade, along with the four national distributor accounts.
Harper Group has promoted Jennifer Civiletto to senior director of backlist. Lisa Erickson has been promoted to executive director at Harper Perennial. Megan Looney has been promoted to associate director of marketing at Harper Perennial. Daniel Duval has been promoted to marketing associate.
Macmillan has promoted Jazz Key to sales manager for e-commerce.
Abrams, Diane Shaw has been promoted to vice president and creative director of the adult division. Monica Shah has been promoted to vice president of sales and sales operations. Liz Frew has been promoted to senior director of sales, international and distribution client publishers. Kathleen Spinelli has been promoted to senior director of sales, international and distribution client publishers. Shelby Ozer has been promoted to associate director, online and digital sales, distribution client publishers. Jay Salton has been promoted to manager, special markets.
ReaderLink has promoted Breanna Meadows to senior account representative.
The New Press has promoted Julia Fink to subsidiary rights and sales associate.
Catapult Book Group has promoted Vanessa Genao to assistant publicist. Tracey Danes has been promoted to associate production editor. Dan Lopez has been promoted to associate editor.
Association of American Publishers has promoted Isabel Rowader to director of communications. Carl Maxwell has been promoted to senior vice president of public policy.
Transit Books, Lizzie Davis has been promoted to the newly created position of executive editor.
The Poetry Project has promoted Nicole Wallace to executive director.
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DULY NOTED
President Obama has released his “Favorite Books of 2024” list.
The Booker Prize has announced that Sarah Jessica Parker will be a judge for the 2025 Book Prize along with Ayobami Adebayo, Kiley Reid, and Chris Power.
President Jimmy Carter died at 100 years old on December 29th, 2024. In addition to his lifelong commitment to humanitarian pursuits, he also authored 32 books. He will be honored with a state funeral on January 9th, 2025.
Author, David Lodge, best known for his Booker Prize nominated novels Small World and Nice Work died today. He was 89 years old.
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EVENTS
Jan 11-19th
Adana, Turkey
Jan 17-19th
Albuquerque, NM
Jan 24-27th
Phoenix, AZ
Jan 24- Feb 4th
Cairo, Egypt
Jan 27-30th
Educational Book and Media Conference
Las Vegas, NV
Jan 28- Feb 9th
Kolkata International Book Fair
Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Every 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.
Under the ‘Knife’- Conversation With Graphic Designer Behind Salman Rushdie’s Memoir
The Unexpected TikTok Moment for Dostoevsky
AAP Releases October 2024 StatShot Report
From Faulkner to Popeye Who Will Enter Public Domain in 2025?
Every 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.
The Copyright Dilemma in The Age of AI?
Can Literary Prizes Survive Protests?
The Worry of Librarians Amidst Down Children’s Sales
Harvard Releases Public Domain to Ai
Strand Booksellers Strike a Deal For New Contract
PEOPLE
At Simon & Schuster, William Scarlett, formerly deputy director of publicity at W.W. Norton & Company, has joined Simon Element as publicity director.
Erin Kibby joins Atria Books as senior marketing manager. Addie Gilligan joins Scribner as a publicist. Niamh Hoban has joined Simon & Schuster as videographer and video editor.
At Hachette SVP of human resources, Andrea Weinzimer, will be leaving at the end of December after twenty years at the company. She will be succeeded by Carrie Bloxson, SVP of culture and diversity, equity, and inclusion at HBG and Hachette UK.
At HarperCollins, Hannah Phillips has joined William Morrow as executive editor. She was previously at St. Martins Press.
Penguin Random House: Deb Wood will join Knopf Cooks as design director. At Putnam, Ruoxi Chen has joined as executive editor. Bantam Books has named Wendy Wong as editor.
Macmillan Publishers announced that former senior editor at Avid Reader Press, Julianna Haubner is joining Flatiron Books as executive editor.
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At Scholastic, Chandler Rawson, formerly digital intern at PR by the Book, has joined as field sales assistant.
At ReaderLink, Anna Herling has joined as senior national account manager.
Adrienne Westenfeld, books and fiction editor at ‘Esquire’ magazine, has left the company and can be contacted at adriennewestenfeld@gmail.com.
Midwest Independent Booksellers Association sees executive director Carrie Obry step down from her position. Grace Hagen will serve as interim executive direction while the board conducts a search for a replacement.
Hoopla Digital, Christina Faubert has joined as senior account manager of digital acquisitions.
University of North Carolina Press, Susan Garrett, sales director, will retire effective January 31.
Broadleaf Books, Rachel Sammons joins as publicist and can be contacted at chollyrns@gmail.com. She was formerly trade marketing associate at Barefoot Books.
In Agency News…
At P.S. Literary Agency, Mireya Chiriboga, formerly assistant editor at HarperCollins, has joined as a literary assistant.
Martin Literary Management, Alicia Brooks, formerly agent at Jean V. Nagger Agency, has joined as senior literary manager and can be contacted at alicia@martinliterarymanagement.com.
Miller Bowers Griffin Literary Management sees Brooke Mondor join as associate agent.
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PROMOTIONS
At Simon & Schuster, Michael Andersen joins Simon & Schuster’s corporate marketing team as senior director of audience insights. He was previously the director of cultural intelligence at Simon Element. Imani Seymour has been promoted to senior manager of multicultural marketing and social media. Carolyn Kelly has been promoted to editor at Avid Reader Press. Mia Robertson has been promoted to associate editor at Simon & Schuster, moving over from Gallery Books.
Penguin Random House: Jen Donovan, previously senior acquisitions editor of Penguin Random House Audio, has been promoted to executive acquisitions editor. Marissa Secreto has been promoted to associate marketing manager at Penguin Random House Audio. Sana Iqbal has been promoted to associate marketing manager Penguin Random House Audio. Robert Guzman has been promoted to director of marketing at Penguin Random House Audio. Juliette DeSena has been promoted to assistant director of social media at Penguin Random House Audio. Brian Laurito has been promoted to marketing and publicity associate at Penguin Random House Audio. Taylor Noel has been promoted to director of marketing for Ballantine, Bantam, and Dell.
At Macmillan Publishers, Chris Sergio has been promoted to SVP and creative director. Julie Will has been promoted to SVP and editor-in-chief of nonfiction at Flatiron Books.
Scholastic, Brianna Peterson has been promoted to senior marketing operations coordinator. Julia Hines has been promoted to senior metadata coordinator. Travis Paulson has been promoted to metadata optimization coordinator.
ReaderLink, David Banks has been promoted to senior Microsoft Dynamics 365 finance and operations functional analyst.
Johns Hopkins University Press has promoted Wendy Queen to the role of chief transformation officer.
University of North Carolina Press, Molly Koecher has been promoted to chief financial officer. Brock Schnoke has been promoted to digital marketing. Liz Orange Lane has been promoted to assistant sales manager.
Longleaf Services, Clinton Bullock has been promoted to senior manager of operations.
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DULY NOTED
Union workers from The Strand Bookstore went on strike, Saturday, December 7th, asking for owners to pay more than minimum wage. The union and the store’s management are set to discuss contracts again on Monday, December 9th.
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EVENTS
Dec 4-10th
Abu Dhabi, UAE
The Center for Fiction Annual Awards Benefit
Dec 10th
New York, NY
Dec 14-15th
Los Angeles, CA
Every 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.
Welcome to the “Errors Tour” Book – Did Taylor Swift Make a Mistake By Self-Publishing?
Ai Aftermath- How Ai is Devaluing Traditional Publishing
Thank Thoreau for “Brain Rot” – Oxford’s Word of The Year
Costco Cuts Books From 500 Locations
Every 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.
Microsoft Enters the Publishing Scene with Launch of Imprint
What Can We Expect From Taylor Swift’s “Publishing Era”?
What Makes a Word of the Year?
HarperCollins Embracing Ai but What Does This Mean for Author’s Rights?
The Battle of the Audiobooks Continues as Amazon Music Adds Unlimited Audiobooks
Every 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.
Booker Prize Goes to Space with Win From Samantha Harvey’s Orbital
Hachette Employees Protest Over New Conservative Imprints
Why Do Men Prefer Nonfiction to Fiction?
The Post Election BookTok Battle
Trump Threatens New York Times and Penguin Random House
