PEOPLE
Larry Kirshbaum will join the Waxman Leavell Literary Agency as a Senior Agent starting February 24, the WSJ reported. Scott Waxman says, “He’ll be an independent agent building his own list like every agent does.” Kirshbaum was an agent for his own firm, LJK Literary Management, between 2005 and mid-2011 before becoming President of Amazon Publishing. (His former colleagues at that agency reconstituted as the Einstein Thompson Agency when Kirshbaum left.)
George Coe has been announced as President and CEO of Baker & Taylor following the retirement of Arnie Wight. He has been President of B&T’s Library and Education division since 2000.
Earlier in January it was announced that Bill Saperstein, Barnes and Noble VP for Digital Products Hardware Engineering “is no longer with the company.” Jim Hilt VP and GM for Global Ebooks and MD of the international Barnes & Noble unit based in Luxembourg, was leaving as well. Michael Huseby, former CEO of the Nook division, moved into the top CEO spot left by William Lynch, who has been hired as CEO of Savant Systems, a home-technology automation company.
Tim Bartlett has gone to Macmillan as Executive Editor at St. Martin’s Press. He had been an Editor at Oxford University Press, Random House, and Basic Books. Meanwhile, Macmillan VP, Director of International Sales Judith Sisko will retire after this year’s London Book Fair in April, after more than 22 years with the company. Prior to Macmillan, Sisko worked at Henry Holt, WH Smith and Simon & Schuster.
Namrata Tripathi will join Dial for Young Readers as Editorial Director, reporting to Lauri Hornik, helping to oversee the acquisition and development of Dial’s list in addition to editing her own projects. She was previously Executive Editor at Atheneum.
Nicole Melander has joined Houghton Mifflin Harcourt as SVP, Digital Strategy, reporting to CEO Linda Zecher. Melander who was previously Chief Technology Officer at Achieving the Dream, will work closely with the company’s content, marketing, alliances, and technology.
Alexis Gargagliano has been named Executive Editor at Atavist Books. She was formerly Senior Editor at Scribner, and she will specialize in acquiring literary fiction and nonfiction manuscripts for her list.
Michelle Komie will join Princeton University Press as Executive Editor for Art and Architecture. She previously worked in the same position at Yale University Press. Anne Savarese is now Executive Editor for Literature at Princeton University Press.
Marisa Vigilante will join Rodale as Senior Editor, effective February 5. She was most recently an editor at PRH.
Beth Vesel has joined the Irene Goodman Literary Agency as a Senior Vice President. She previously ran the Beth Vesel Literary Agency for ten years, and before that was a Senior Agent at the Sanford J. Greenburger Agency for fourteen years.
Laurie Muchnick is joining Kirkus Reviews in February as Fiction Editor, following the resignation of Elaine Szewczyk. Muchnick has written and edited book reviews for more than 20 years, most recently at Bloomberg News, and currently serves as the President of the National Book Critics Circle.
Publishers Lunch reports that ICM Agent Heather Schroder left the firm recently to start her own agency, Compass Talent. Her first deal under the new banner is with Flatiron Books.
Brooks Sherman has joined the Bent Agency. Sherman was previously an Agent at FinePrint Literary Management.
Molly Barton, Global Digital Director at Penguin and founder of Book Country, has accepted a faculty position at Wesleyan University. She will also consult for publishing-related start-ups.
Jane von Mehren has joined Zachary Shuster Harmsworth as an Affiliate Agent after more than 25 years as an Editor and Publishing Executive, most recently as an SVP and Publisher, Trade Paperback at the Random House Publishing Group.
Justin Hargett has joined the Portfolio, Sentinel, and Current imprints as Senior Publicist. Previously he was a Publicist at Basic Books.
Cowan DeBaets Abrahams & Sheppard LLP (CDAS) announced the addition of publishing attorney Alex Gigante, formerly Executive Vice President for Legal Affairs for Penguin Group (USA), who has joined the firm as Special Counsel. Through October 2014, he also will continue his association with Penguin Random House in the part-time position of Senior Counsel.
Kelley L. Allen has been named Director of eBooks at Humble Bundle. Allen was formerly the Director of New Media at Random House and Director of eBook Acquisition at Sony, and she was most recently at Kobo.
PROMOTIONS & CHANGES
Changes at Penguin Random House:
President and Publisher of Gotham/Avery Books Bill Shinker has left the company “to do consulting,” after what Penguin President Susan Petersen Kennedy calls a “storied four-decade publishing career [that] uniquely includes the founding of two lasting Penguin and Random House imprints: Gotham Books and Broadway Books.” Succeeding Shinker is Brian Tart, who remains President and Publisher of Dutton. Gotham/Avery Associate Publisher Lisa Johnson, Gotham Editorial Director Lauren Marino and Avery Editorial Director Megan Newman now report to him.
Madeline McIntosh, U.S. President & COO, PRH, announced the creation of new senior sales leadership positions for Penguin Random House:
Jaci Updike, formerly SVP, Director, Adult Sales, Random House, is now Senior Vice President, Director, Adult Sales, PRH, reporting to McIntosh. The Penguin Paperback and Distributor Sales group, the Penguin Hardcover Sales group, and Penguin Online & Digital Sales will continue to be led, respectively, by Norman Lidofsky, President, John Lawton, SVP, and Tim McCall, Vice President. They will now report to Updike, as does the Random House Adult Sales group.
Felicia Frazier, formerly SVP, Director, Sales, Penguin Young Readers, is appointed Senior Vice President, Director, Young Readers Sales under McIntosh. The Random House Children’s and Penguin Young Readers Sales departments now report directly to Frazier.
Katya Shannon, currently Penguin’s VP, Director, Adult Hardcover Field Sales, Penguin, has been appointed to another newly created position: Vice President, Director, Special Markets, PRH, reporting to Jaci Updike. The existing Random House and Penguin Special Markets and Gift Sales Directors and Managers will now report to Shannon.
Julie Black, currently SVP, Director, Sales Strategic Planning, Random House, will now support the entire Penguin Random House Sales group in this capacity.
Joan Demayo, currently SVP, Director, Random House Children’s Sales and Special Markets, will step down from her current position. She will now serve as a direct advisor on a range of initiatives related to sales and business development, and she will be actively working with the senior management team to assist them with the transition.
In separate announcements, Random House Special Markets Group, Christine Dillon has been promoted to Senior Sales Director, Premium and Proprietary Sales. Cathy Serpico moves up to Imprint Sales Manager, and in Specialty Retail, Lauren Helman has been promoted to Sales Manager and Leigh Malach has been promoted to Sales Representative. At Crown Archetype, Mary Choteborsky has been promoted to Senior Editor.
Jen Reynolds has been promoted to Director of Field Sales at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Amy Kaneko is now VP Sales and Marketing at Weldon Owen, where she has worked for seven years. She was previously VP, Sales and Business Development.
Kara Coughlin has been promoted Sales Coordinator, Distribution Sales at Macmillan. Stephanie Davis has been promoted to Marketing Manager, SMP. Patricia Doherty has been promoted to National Accounts Manager. Ruth Esehak-Gillespie has been promoted to Sales and Promotion Associate, International Sales. At Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, Christy Ottaviano has been promoted to Publisher, Christy Ottaviano Books. Esther Bochner has been promoted to Publicity Manager at Macmillan Audio, while Kristen Golden moves up to Marketing and Design Coordinator.
Mary Beth Roche has been promoted to VP, President and Publisher at Macmillan Audio, and will continue to oversee the Macmillan Speakers Bureau.
Bryony Weiss has been promoted to Senior Marketing Manager in the Corporate Marketing Group at S&S; she was previously the Consumer Marketing Manager.
At Touchstone, Lauren Spiegel has been promoted to Senior Editor.
At Scholastic, Rose Else-Mitchell has been promoted to the newly created position of Executive Vice President, Scholastic Education and Publisher, Global Education. In her new role, she will oversee the creation and development of print-based, blended learning, and technology products and services for the pre-K to 12 education market.
DULY NOTED
Lippincott Massie McQuilkin partner Rob McQuilkin and Irene Skolnick announced that henceforth LMQ will manage all back-office operations of The Irene Skolnick Literary Agency.
IN MEMORIAM
Richard Grossman, Founder of Grossman Publishers, which was sold to Viking in 1968, died last Monday at age 92 of leukemia. He sold his publishing business to Viking in 1968.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Click here to see our full calendar of publishing events
2014
Jan 31 – Feb 5
Taipei International Book Exhibition
Taipei World Trade Center, Taiwan
Feb 5 – 7
PSP 2014 Annual Conference
Ritz Carlton Hotel, Washington, DC
Feb 12 – 15
College Art Association 102nd Annual Conference
Chicago, IL
Feb 17 – 21
Social Media Week
Various locations
Feb 21 – 23
SCBWI 15th Annual Winter Conference
Grand Hyatt New York, New York, NY
Feb 25 – 27
ASCI/AAP Joint Meeting
The Fairmont Chicago, Chicago, IL
Feb 28 – Mar 2
2014 Festival Neue Literatur
New Writing from Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and the U.S.
New York, NY
Mar 7 – 9
The Great American Bargain Book Show (GABBS)
AmericasMart, Atlanta, GA
Mar 7 – 11
South by Southwest Interactive Festival
Austin, TX
Mar 15 – 18
International Home and Housewares Show
Palmer House Hilton, Chicago, IL
Mar 19 – 23
Virginia Festival of the Book
Charlottesville, VA
Mar 24 – 25
FIPP 7th Digital Innovators’ Summit
Deutsch Telecom Center, Berlin
Mar 28 – Apr 7
Bangkok International Book Fair
Bangkok, Thailand
Apr 2 – 4
State of Maryland International Reading Council (SoMIRAC) Conference
Hunt Valley Inn, Baltimore, MD
Apr 7
Digital Minds Conference
London, England
Apr 8 – 10
The London Book Fair
Earls Court Exhibition Centre, London, England
Apr 11 – 14
Museum Store Association Conference and Expo
Houston, TX
Apr 12 – 13
LA Festival of the Book
USC Campus, Los Angeles, CA
Apr 30 – May 5
Abu Dhabi International Book Fair
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Apr 30 – May 4
Geneva International Book Fair
Palexpo, Geneva, Switzerland
May 7 – 9
Playcon
Westin Kierland Resort & Spa, Scottsdale, AZ
May 9 – 12
International Reading Association Annual Convention
Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, New Orleans, LA
May 12 – 14
Worldwide Media Marketplace 2014
Bangkok, Thailand
May 15 – 18
Book World Prague
Guest of Honour: Hungary
Palace of Industry, Prague Exhibition Grounds
May 29
BISG’s Making Information Pay
Co-located for the first time with IDPF Digital Book 2014 at Book Expo America
Javits Center, New York, NY
May 29 – 31
BookExpo America (BEA)
Javits Center, New York, NY
Jun 2 – 6
CUNY Publishing Institute 2014
CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, New York, NY
Jun 12 – 14
16th National Museum Publishing Seminar
Boston Park Plaza Hotel & Towers, Boston, MA
Jun 22 – 25
International Christian Retail Show 2014
Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, GA
Jul 2 – 5
Tokyo International Book Fair
Tokyo, Japan
Jul 23 – 26
Romance Writers of America Conference
San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter & Marriott Riverwalk, San Antonio, TX
Aug 27 – 31
Beijing International Book Fair
Guest of Honor: Turkey
Beijing, China
Aug 28 – Sep 7
São Paulo Book Fair
São Paulo, Brazil
Aug 30
National Book Festival
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C.
