People Roundup
Lots of movement at Barnes & Noble: Liz Scheier has joined Barnes & Noble.com as Editorial Director, working with publishers to create “unique, exclusive content digital opportunities throughout our digital distribution platforms, including in store programs” and reporting to Theresa Horner, VP Digital Products. She was most recently Director of Publishing Relations at ScrollMotion and previously an editor at Random House and Penguin. Mike Ferrari has left the company. He had held several positions there, most recently Director, Digital Content at B&N.com.
Margot Schupf has joined Sterling Innovation as VP, Publisher. She was SVP, Editorial Director, Digital Publishing for the Morrow/Avon/Eos group.
With the demise of Air America, website Editor-in-Chief Beau Friedlander may now be reached at simnyc [at] rcn.com.
Ron Marshall, Borders CEO for barely a year, has resigned to join A&P. Michael Edwards, who joined Borders last fall as EVP and Chief Merchandising Officer, has been named interim CEO. He will report to Mick McGuire, Chairman of the Borders board. Also at Borders, Dan Angus has become VP, Customer Loyalty, and will be in charge of loyalty marketing programs and initiatives. Angus was formerly VP, Customer Relationship Marketing, for Guitar Center.
Scott Lubeck, most recently VP of Technology for Wolters Kluwer Health, Professional and Education, has been appointed Executive Director of the Book Industry Study Group (BISG). Lubeck has also held executive positions with Harvard Business School Publishing and Newsstand, Inc., as well as with Perseus and National Academy Press.
Nicholas Brealey announced that John Groton has been named Sales Director for the North American operations based in Boston. He joins Editorial Director Erika Heilman and Finance Director Jill Friedlander. He was most recently at Globe Pequot, following many years at Random House.
Whitney Peeling is leaving PublicAffairs to “volunteer for a few months in India and Bangladesh.” Jaime Leifer returns as Publicity Director. Leifer was at Perseus from 2001–07 and was most recently Public Relations Manager at The New Yorker.
Sydny Miner has been named VP, Executive Editor of the Crown Publishing Group after 26 years with Simon & Schuster.
Kevin Hamric has left Quayside to join The News Group as VP, Book Operations. He will also be working with TNG’s sister companies, Select Media Services and ProLogix.
HarperCollins Digital announced the formation of three teams: Author Services, headed by Carolyn Pittis, SVP, HC Digital; Global Author Services Consumer Products, headed by Joe Park, currently CEO of BibleGateway/Zondervan and a former Amazon executive; and Business Development, where Leslie Hulse continues. In addition, Larry Nevins announced the formation of the Digital Technology Services Group. Mike McGinniss, VP of Emerging Technologies, will move into the newly created role of SVP, Digital Technology Services. Greg Mucci has been named Director of Digital Technology Operations. He had been a consultant at HarperCollins.
Direct Brands has hired David Gitow as CMO and Alan Katz as EVP, Business Development, the first major appointments under new CEO Deborah Fine. Gitow was CMO at both B&N.com and Barnes & Noble, and founded and ran Time, Inc. Home Entertainment.
Elizabeth Evans has joined the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency. She has worked at Kimberley Cameron & Associates (formerly the Reece Halsey Agency) for the past six years.
Mary Dolan has left Kaplan, where she was Executive Director of Sales, to join Harvard Business Press.
The Library of America has hired Trish Hoard as Production Editor. Hoard was previously Managing Editor at Counterpoint and Associate Publisher at Shoemaker & Hoard. She replaces retiring Managing Editor Sharon Graham.
Rubin Pfeffer, most recently Simon & Schuster SVP of Children’s Publishing, has joined East/West Literary Agency. Pfeffer is focusing on projects with a digital component and will head up the East Coast branch of the agency as a partner and content agent, a new position.
Joe Esposito, one-time President of Encyclopedia Britannica and earlier at Random House, has signed on as CEO of GiantChair, which provides direct marketing services for the publishing industry on the internet. He reports to Cory McCloud, the company’s founder and president for technology. Most of GiantChair’s operations are based in Europe, but Esposito remains in California.
PROMOTIONS AND INTERNAL CHANGES
Nicole Reardon has been promoted to Associate Director of Marketing at HarperCollins, replacing Christine Boyd, who left at the end of 2009. Reardon reports to Angie Lee, who has been promoted to VP Marketing.
Frances Gilbert has been promoted from VP, Editorial Director to VP, Publisher, Sterling Children’s, which includes the imprints Sterling Children’s Books, Sandy Creek Press, Begin Smart, and Flash Kids.
NAL’s Brent Howard has been promoted to Editor. At Random House Publishing Group, Kathleen McAuliffe has been promoted to Marketing Manager, Trade Paperbacks. Camille Dewing-Vallejo has been promoted to Senior Copywriter and Elizabeth Eno to Designer. At Bantam Dell, Randall Klein has been promoted to Associate Editor.
Tom Roberge has been named Associate Editor at Penguin, and remains publishing coordinator there.
Lance Fensterman has been promoted to Group VP at Reed Exhibitions and will now devote his attention exclusively to running and growing the company’s Pop Culture business. Steven Rosato has been promoted to replace him as Event Director of BookExpo America.
HarperOne Associate Publisher Claudia Boutote is being promoted to SVP. Executive Editor Gideon Weil has been promoted to VP.
DULY NOTED
OverDrive released interesting statistics about its library business in 2009: 401 million website pages viewed by library patrons (69% growth over 2008) and 8.7 million digital titles checked out (63% increase over 2008); and 4 billion minutes of spoken-word audio downloaded from library websites, with a 70% increase in audiobook checkouts over 2008. E-book checkouts increased by 53%. And there was a 40% increase in new library users over 2008. 2009’s most downloaded adult fiction audiobook was The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown; the most downloaded nonfiction audiobook was 25 Things to Say to the Interviewer to Get the Job You Want by Dexter Hawk. The most downloaded adult fiction e-book was The Lost Symbol; the most downloaded adult nonfiction e-book was Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. OverDrive also releases monthly “Most Downloaded Books from the Library” lists.
UPCOMING EVENTS
The Books for a Better Life Awards, which honor self-help books and have raised over $1.6 million for the New York City – Southern New York Chapter of the National MS Society since 1996, will take place on February 22 at NYC’s Millennium Broadway Hotel. Robin Roberts, co-anchor of ABC News’ “Good Morning America,” hosts the awards and Carolyn Reidy, President and CEO, of Simon & Schuster, Inc., will be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
The Book Business Publishing Business Conference and Expo takes place March 8–10 at the New York Marriott Marquis. Speakers include Susan Danziger, CEO of DailyLit; Laura Dawson, President of LJNDawson; Bob Miller, President and Publisher of HarperStudio; and Steve Forbes, Chairman and CEO of Forbes Media.
BAM’s Eat, Drink & Be Literary brings authors to Brooklyn’s BAMcafé for dinners, readings, and discussions. Upcoming speakers include Lynn Nottage (February 11), Sam Lipsyte (March 11), Colm Tóibín (April 8), and Joshua Ferris (April 22).
IN MEMORIAM
Karen Hansgen, Associate Publisher of Skira/Rizzoli, died in her sleep on January 10. A memorial service was held on January 15.
