People Round-Up, Mid-August 2017

PEOPLE

Jennifer Bergstrom has been named Senior VP, Publisher of the Gallery Books Group, succeeding Louise Burke, who retires August 18. Bergstrom joined Simon & Schuster in 1998 and led the launch of Scout Press in 2015.

Adam Eberle has joined OverDrive as Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, focusing on expansion of the K-12 market. He was previously VP of Sales and General Manager for the Sungard K-12 unit at the Powerschool Group.

In children’s news, Neal Porter will join Holiday House as VP and Publisher for Neal Porter Books on September 18, moving the imprint over from Roaring Brook Press.

At Scholastic Trade, Mara Lander is now Senior Marketing Director, Licensed Publishing and Brand Management. She was previously Executive Director, Licensing and Brand Management, at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Sarah Jacobson has also joined Scholastic as Assistant Production Editor, having previously freelanced for the publisher. Carolyn Bull joins as Designer for Licensed Publishing; she was previously Junior Designer at Little, Brown Children’s.

Alana Yuster has joined Igloo Books as National Account Manager. She was previously Brand Manager at Penguin Random House.

On September 12, Ryan Doherty will join Macmillan’s new trade book division, Celadon Books, as Executive Editor. He has been working as VP of Literary Development at Sony Pictures Entertainment. At Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Julia Ringo has joined as Assistant Editor, having worked previously as Editorial Assistant at Knopf. At Henry Holt, Marian Brown has joined as Publicist at Large; she was previously Executive Publicist for Blue Rider Press.

Brian Ulicky has joined The New Press as Director of Publicity and Marketing, moving over from his previous role as Director of Publicity for Blue Rider Press.

Cristobal Pera has joined Vintage Español as Publishing Director, succeeding Jaime de Pablos, who has resigned. Pera was Founding Director of The Wylie Agency España and had worked there since 2015. Julianne Clancy joins the Knopf, Pantheon, and Schocken Books marketing group as Marketing Manager.

At Harper, Tracy Locke joined as Director of Publicity on August 7; she was previously VP and Associate Publisher at Penguin Press until mid-2014. At HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Becky Melvin has joined the W Publishing Group as Director of Publicity, having worked most recently as Director of Public Relations, Social Relations and Social Media for the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore. In addition, Joey Paul has joined Thomas Nelson and Zondervan as Senior Editor. He was previously Executive Editor at FaithWords.

Sherrie Slopianka has been hired to take over as Publisher, VP of the Willamette Group. She was most recently Executive Director of Sales at Worthy Publishing. LaRae Weikert will retire as Publisher at Harvest House on August 31, after nearly 32 years with the company.

Eric Kuennen has joined VitalSource as VP, Professional Learning. He was previously VP for Pearson.

At Melville House, Stephanie DeLuca is now Director of Publicity. She was previously Publicity Manager for Gallery Books. In addition, Alexandra Primiani joined as Senior Publicist, having most recently worked as Publicist for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

At university presses: Barbara Kline Pope will become Director of Johns Hopkins University Press at the end of September, replacing Kathleen Keane, who retired in April. Pope was most recently Executive Director for Communications and Executive Director of the National Academies Press at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. At Oxford University Press, David Clark has been appointed to succeed Tim Barton as Managing Director, Academic Division. Barton will depart in September and Clark, currently Senior VP for Health and Medical Sciences at Elsevier, will begin his new position in January 2018. In addition, Richard Brown is stepping down as Director of Georgetown University Press on October 6; Hope LeGro, current Director, Languages Division, will serve as Interim Director.

At Amazon Publishing, Colleen Lindsay has joined as Publicity Lead for Montlake Romance, 47North, and Skyscape. She was previously Marketing Director at Open Road Integrated Media. Hafizah Geter has joined Little A, as well as Amazon’s digital literary magazine Day One, as Editor. She was most recently Editor and Publicity Coordinator for Poets House.

At agencies: Julie Dinneen has joined D4EO Literary Agency as Agent. Joshua LaMorey has left his position as Scout at Franklin & Siegel.

Kristen Radtke joined The Believer as Art Director and New York Editor. She was previously Managing Editor at Sarabande Books.

Erin Vandeveer returns to Abrams as Senior Production Manager. She was most recently Studio Manager for St. Martin’s. Hannah Babcock has joined the publisher as Assistant Manager, Subsidiary Rights, having worked previously as Assistant Scout for Baker Literary Scouting. Tessa Meischeid has joined Abrams Children’s as Associate Publicist, moving over from her previous role as Assistant Editor at HarperCollins Children’s. In addition, Lora Grisafi has joined the children’s group as Trade Marketing Designer. In addition to her freelance work, she was previously Associate Art Director for Random House Children’s.

At the National Book Foundation, Mark Lee has joined as Communications and Marketing Manager. He was previously Associate Publicist at Doubleday.

At Chronicle Books, Katherine McKim has joined as Contracts Manager; she was previously Senior Contracts Manager at Penguin Random House. In addition, Camaren Subhiyah joined as Senior Editor for Food and Lifestyle. She was previously Editor at Abrams.

At Ingram Content Group, Tricia Racke Bengel has joined as Library Sales and Services Manager for Ingram Library Services, moving over from her previous position as Assistant Director of the Nashville Public Library. Anne Ugarte, most recently Manager, Client Sales at Simon & Schuster, joined Perseus Distribution and Ingram Academic Services as Client Relations Manager. Andrew McGarrity has become Director of Digital Solutions for Tennessee Book Company, following their acquisition of Thrivist, which he founded. As part of that acquisition, Derrick Greer is now Senior Manager of Customer Success.

Gisselle Guillen has joined Fabled Films Press as Publicity and Marketing Manager. She was previously Public Relations Account Manager for Rachel Litner Associates.

Shannon Criss has joined EverAfter Romance as Senior Acquisitions Editor. She was previously Editor at Harlequin.

Jennifer Kurdyla joined The Experiment as Editor. She had been Assistant Editor at Knopf.

Michael Seidlinger has joined Electric Literature as Social Media Editor. He was previously Director of Publicity for Dzanc Books.

At Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Stephanie Buschardt has joined as Publicist, moving over from her role as Editorial Assistant at Kirkus Reviews.

PROMOTIONS

At Little, Brown, Ned Rust has been promoted to VP and Publisher for James Patterson and will be responsible for all aspects of the adult and children’s publishing programs. Jenny Bak has been promoted to Editorial Director for Jimmy Patterson Books. At Little, Brown Children’s, Kheryn Callender has been promoted to Associate Editor.

Rachel Coun has been promoted to VP, Marketing and Global Franchise Management at Scholastic Trade. Megan Peace has been promoted to Associate Editor.

Shelby Meizlik has been promoted to VP, Special Events and Creative Strategies at William Morrow. Kelly Rudolph has been promoted to Senior Group Publicity Director.

Elyse Marshall has been promoted to Executive Director of Publicity at Penguin Children’s. At Random House Children’s, Mary Ellen Owens has been promoted to Senior Production Manager and Shameiza Ally has been promoted to Associate Production Manager. Cindy Johnson has been promoted to Managing Editor for Random House Children’s and Golden Books, while Megan Williams moves up to Associate Managing Editor for Crown Children’s. At the Knopf, Pantheon, and Schocken marketing group, Katie Burns is now Director of Advertising; Sara Eagle and Danielle Plafsky are both now Assistant Director of Marketing; Dani Toth is now Marketing Manager; and Emily Murphy is now Associate Marketing Manager. Brianna Linden has been promoted to Associate Publicist at Viking/Penguin. At Vintage Español, Ingrid Paredes has been promoted to Publishing Manager. In the art department of Crown Publishing Group, Elizabeth Rendfleisch is now VP and Director of Interior Design; Jessie Bright is now Art Director; Michael Morris is now Senior Designer; and both Alane Gianetti and Maurice Principe are now Designer.

At Roaring Brook Press, Connie Hsu has been promoted to Executive Editor.

At Amazon Publishing, Tyler Freidenrich has been promoted to Art Director.

Nick Lindsay has been promoted to Director of Journals and Open Access at the MIT Press.

At Kids Can Press, Adrienne Tang has been promoted to Rights Director and Genie MacLeod to Production Editor.

At Macmillan Children’s, Ebony Lane has been promoted to Senior Rights Manager, Rights and Permissions, while Catherine Kramer moves up to Subsidiary Rights Associate. Laird Gallagher has been promoted to Associate Editor at Farrar, Straus & Giroux. Nicole Otto has been promoted to Assistant Editor for Imprint.

Stephanie Lewis has been promoted to Business Data Manager at Sourcebooks, while Drew French has been promoted to Sales Data Associate.

At Ingram Content Group, Catherine Robinson is now Product Marketing Manager. At Ingram Publisher Services, Johanna Hynes has been promoted to Manager, Sales, while Robert Barnard has been promoted to Senior Manager of Application Development for the IT department.

Nicole Wheeler has been promoted to Brand Marketing and Sales Manager at Fabled Films Press.

Kim Romero has been promoted to Senior Editor, Entertainment and Lifestyle at Chronicle Books.

At Electric Literature, Lucie Shelly has been promoted to Senior Editor for Recommended Reading, and Brandon Taylor has been promoted to Associate Editor.

At Scribner, Rosie Mahorter is now Publicist.

DULY NOTED

At Barnes & Noble Education, Michael Huseby has been appointed by the board of directors to succeed the departing Max J. Roberts as CEO. Roberts will retire effective September 19 and will not stand for reelection to the board. Huseby will also serve as Chairman of the Board, having served as Executive Chairman since 2015.

Macmillan has finalized a deal to relocate their offices from the iconic Flatiron Building, where their lease was due to expire next year. The publisher signed a 20-year lease at 120 Broadway, known as the Equitable Building, where all of its divisions will be under the same roof once again.

Ingram Publisher Services has added four publishers: Calexia Press, Hodder Education, and NewSouth Books, effective July 1, and Callaway Arts and Entertainment, effective August 5. In addition, IPS’s Perseus Distribution will handle sales and distribution for F+W Media’s print books in the US and Canada and for its digital titles worldwide, while Ingram Publishers Group will distribute Quarto’s new Spanish-language imprint, Quarto Iberoamericana. Editorial Gustavo Gili de Mexico will distribute in Mexico.

Chris Myers, formerly Senior VP and Managing Director at Peter Lang Publishers, is launching a new academic publishing house, Myers Education Press. John von Knorring, President and Publisher of Stylus Publishing, will be Myers’s partner. The company will be based in Maine.

At the Book Industry Study Group’s annual meeting on September 25, Macmillan Learning CEO Ken Michaels will receive the BISG’s 2017 Distinguished Service Award, recognizing “outstanding work on behalf of BISG over the course of a career.”

EVENTS

August 12-28
Edinburgh International Book Festival
Edinburgh, UK

August 15-20
Writers at Woody Point
Woody Point, Newfoundland and Labrador

August 18-20
Writer’s Digest Conference
New York, NY

August 19
Mississippi Book Festival
Jackson, MS

August 23-27
Beijing International Book Fair
Beijing, China

September 1-3
AJC Decatur Book Festival
Decatur, GA

September 1-4
Dragon Con
Atlanta, GA

September 2
17th Library of Congress National Book Festival
Washington, DC

September 3
San Francisco Zine Fest
San Francisco, CA

September 6-10
Open Book Cape Town
Cape Town, South Africa

September 10
The Children’s Book Fair
Chicago, IL