PEOPLE
Tracy Carns, who had been Publishing Director at The Overlook Press before going briefly to Reganbooks, has launched The Rookery Press, in association with Overlook (and in Overlook’s offices). For more information, email Tracy@therookerypress.com.
Sterling Publishing announced that Marisa Bulzone has joined the company as Editorial Director, Hearst Books. Bulzone was Executive Editor at Stewart, Tabori & Chang.
Harriet Bell is leaving HarperCollins November 16. She may be reached at harrietbell@verizon.net. Rakesh Satyal has moved to Harper as an editor reporting to Jonathan Burnham. He was an associate editor at Doubleday Broadway, working for Gerry Howard.
In sales, Greg Anastas, Director of Customer Operations is leaving S&S to join Perseus Publishing as VP of Sales Operations. . . . Jim Conlin is joining S & S as National Account Manager for Books for Young Readers and other imprints. He will share the selling responsibilities for B&N with Elena Blanco. Prior positions were at Disney Publishing Group, Scholastic, and thirteen years as a buyer at Borders. . . . Stephen Sussman has been named VP Sales for print products at LearningExpress. He was mostly recently at Barron’s. LearningExpress is distributed through PGW. . . . Kevin Hunt has taken a position at Sylvan Source as VP, Sales. He had been VP of Sales at Klutz, located in California. His email is khunt@sylvansource.com . . . . Peter Ackroyd has been named VP of Sales and Marketing at Quayside Publishing/Quarto. He reports to CEO Ken Fund, working out of the Gloucester, MA office.
John Oakes will be joining Atlas Books as Executive Editor, the position Jesse Cohen held until earlier this summer. (He may be reached at jesse.cohen5@verizon.net.) Oakes was most recently at Avalon, which had purchased the company he co-founded, Four Walls Eight Windows, in 2004.
John Fedor Publisher, Books at the American Diabetes Association, has gone to the Thomson Corporation in their Career and Professional division.
Following the sale of Trafalgar Square to IPG, Managing Director, Paul Feldstein will stay on till the end of the year and will continue to consult for them through June of next year from various points on both sides of the Atlantic while he ponders his next move.
Adam Korn has moved from Villard to Kensington, as an Editor. . . . Allison Dickens has moved to Plume as Senior Editor, acquiring for both trade paperback original and hard/soft with Dutton. She had been at Ballantine. . . . Dedi Felman has joined the S&S imprint as Senior Editor, reporting to Alice Mayhew. She had been at Oxford University Press for the past seven years, and is editor of Words without Borders, an online magazine for international literature in translation.
Kristen Giorgio has joined DK as Marketing Manager. She has been Marketing Manager for Scribner and Touchstone Fireside. . . . Ronnie Gramazio has joined Globe Pequot Press as Executive Editor for the Lyons Press imprint, relocating from Australia, where he worked at Wiley most recently.
Kathy Daneman has left her position as Publicity Director of Soho Press to become Publicity Manager at FSG. Colleen Lindsay has taken over her position at Soho. She has worked as an independent publicist and Assistant Director of Publicity at Ballantine.
Morgen Van Vorst has joined Public Affairs as an Editor. She had been at Norton.
Laura Pillar joins Goldberg McDuffie Communications as Associate Director on November 1. She was Publicity Manager at Doubleday.
PROMOTIONS
Richard Sarnoff, President of Random House’s Corporate Development Group and Random House Ventures LLC, has added responsibilities as head of Bertelsmann‘s newly established international venture capital fund, Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments.
Lindsay Jones has been promoted to Editor at Public Affairs. She had been Associate Editor.
At Avery and Viking Studio, Lucia Watson has been promoted to Senior Editor and Jeff Galas is moving over from Dutton, continuing as Editor.
At S&S, Frank Nunez, currently Director of Financial Planning and Analysis in the S&S Children’s Division has been promoted to the position of Director of Customer Operations, previously held by Greg Anastas.
LATE OCTOBER EVENTS
The CLMP Spelling Bee – “A Better Bee,” is back on October 30 at Exit Art, 475 Tenth Avenue. MC: Bob Morris; Judge: Jesse Sheidlower. Spellers include Lev Grossman defending his crown; Alex Kuczynski, Patrick McGrath, Sara Nelson and many more. Go to www.clmp.org/invite for information.
NOVEMBER EVENTS
The Council of Literary Magazines and Presses will host the first Literary Writers Conference at The New School in New York City (LWC/NYC) November 2 – 9. Attempting to go beyond “how to get an agent,” the conference is aimed at post-MFA fiction writers and poets, and brings together a who’s who of publishing pros (including Sonny Mehta, Morgan Entrekin and Jonathan Burnham) to help them navigate the marketplace effectively. For more info, visit: www.clmp.org/lwc.
The Thurber Prize for American Humor will be presented on Monday, November 6 at the Algonquin. Henry Alford, who won last year’s prize, will host the evening’s reception and ceremony. For further information email sjaffe@ thurberhouse.org.
Also on November 6, The Mercantile Library announces the John Sargent Sr. first novel prize, and honors Gary Fisketjon and Robert Coover at its awards dinner at the New York Racquet and Tennis Club. For information go to www.mercantilelibrary.org.
Barbara Lowenstein, ably abetted by many publishers and colleagues, has organized the Village Health Works Benefit on November 8 at 88 Crosby Street in SoHo, from 6-8. Donations help build and maintain a medical center in Burundi. Join Paul Farmer, Tracy Kidder and others, or send a check to The Hitchcock Foundation, c/o Barbara Lowenstein, 1025 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10028.
To celebrate its 10th anniversary, NYU’s Master of Science in Publishing program presents How to Lead and Succeed in a Brave New Media World, moderated by NYT’s David Carr, with panelists Steve Murphy, Carolyn Reidy, Yahoo’s Daniel Rosenzweig and Conde Nast’s Tom Wallace. The event takes place Wednesday November 8 at 6:30 at the Kimmel Center, 60 Washington Square South. Space is tight, but if interested in attending, email Heidi.johnson@nyu.edu to check availability.
The 2006 National Book Awards Ceremony and Benefit Dinner takes place on Wednesday, November 15 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel. Fran Liebowitz is MC, Adrienne Rich is honored, and The New Yorker’s David Remnick will present the Literarian Award to Robert Silvers and, posthumously, Barbara Epstein, co-founders of The New York Review of Books. For information go to www.nationalbook.org.
The Small Press Center’s Annual Benefit and Cocktail Reception honors Alice Walker, on Friday, November 17, 2006, 6:00-8:00pm. Call 212.764.7021 or email or info@smallpress.org for information.
Meanwhile, the 19th Annual Independent and Small Press Book Fair will be held December 2nd & 3rd, at the Small Press Center. 3,000 to 4,000 attendees are expected, with over 100 independent presses taking part. Got to http://www.smallpress.org, for further information.
Peter Workman is the honoree at “An evening of Fond Tales and Gentle Roasts,” a benefit for Goddard Riverside. The gala takes place at Tavern on the Green on November 20. Call 212 873 4448 or email bookfair@goddard.org. The 20th Annual New York Book Fair takes place November 17-19.
DULY NOTED
Robert Stone, speaking at the Whiting Awards on October 25th: “Writing is not an indulgence; it’s a service.” On the same night, the publishing industry bade farewell to William Morris’ Owen Laster at the Four Seasons. Judy Blume, Suzanne Gluck, Jennifer Rudolph Walsh and Dominick Dunne were among the speakers.
