People Round-Up, Early January 2018

PEOPLE

Michelle R. Ferguson has been appointed SVP, Chief Operating Officer at Abrams. Most recently, she was SVP, Workplace Strategies at McGraw-Hill. And Jess Braillier has left his position as VP, Publisher of Abrams Plus.

Valentina Rice has joined the newly-formed American arm of Bonnier Zaffre as VP, Sales, Marketing, & Publicity. She was most recently VP, International Sales & Marketing at Penguin Group USA.

At Follett, Patrick Connolly has become President and CEO, taking over from the retiring Ray Griffith. Connolly was previously CEO of Universities Worldwide.

Annette Hughes has joined Midpoint Trade Books as Director of National Accounts, moving over from her previous position as National Account Director at Scholastic.

At Lerner Publishing Group, Rachel Zugschwert is joining as Group Marketing Director. She was previously Director of Marketing for Sparkhouse Family.

Mark Glesne has joined Thomas Nelson as Marketing Director, having worked most recently as Director of Marketing and Digital Commerce at TOL, Inc.

At HarperOne, Mark Tauber is leaving his role as SVP, Publisher. Until a replacement is found, the division will report to Harper Morrow publisher Michael Morrison. At HarperCollins, Samantha Howard has joined as Sales Operations Manager for International Sales. She was previously Associate Consultant at Market Partners International. At Basic Books, Chin-Yee Lai has joined as Creative Director. She was previously a freelance art director at W.W. Norton.

Maria Vigilante is joining Little, Brown as Senior Editor for Tracy Behar’s yet-unnamed new imprint. Vigilante was previously Senior Editor at Rodale.

At Bloomsbury Publishing Group, Group Finance Director Wendy Pallot will leave after a twelve-month notice period to join Euromoney Institutional Investor. A search for her replacement is underway.

Mark Hillesheim has left his position as National Account Manager for Legato. As he was the final dedicated employee for the distribution unit, Legato is formally finished. Its clients have been integrated into PGW.

At agencies…Jennifer Golobov has joined Donald Maass Literary Agency as Agent, representing adult fantasy and science fiction. She was previously Agent at Red Sofa Literary. At New Leaf Literary & Media, Veronica Grijalva, previously Office Manager and Scout at Jane Starr Literary Scouts, is now Foreign Rights Associate, while Jeremy Stern, previously Assistant to the President at Cinetic Media, has joined as Story Editor. Natalie Grazian has joined Martin Literary & Media Management as Associate Literary Manager; she was previously Sales Representative at W.W. Norton.

Jaymie Stuart Wolfe has joined Ave Maria Press as Senior Editor, Trade Books. Most recently she was Acquisitions Editor at Our Sunday Visitor.

At Simon & Schuster Children’s, Jennifer Wattley has joined as Associate Digital & Social Marketing Manager. She was previously Production Associate at St. Martin’s Press.

Mekisha Telfer has joined Roaring Brook Press as Associate Editor. She was most recently Associate Editor at Glasstown Entertainment.

Joyce Lin has joined Chronicle Books as Food and Lifestyle Publicist. She was previously Culinary Publicity Associate at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Jennifer Ildiko Szalai will serve as Nonfiction Book Critic at the New York Times beginning in January, taking over as Jennifer Senior moves back to long-form journalism.

Effective February 1, Michael Lynton will join the board of Pearson as Independent Non-Executive Director. He was most recently Chairman and CEO of Sony Entertainment.

PROMOTIONS

At Simon & Schuster Audio, Elisa Shokoff has been promoted to VP, Executive Producer, while Sarah Lieberman has been promoted to VP, Associate Publisher, and Lauren Pires moves up to Assistant Director of Marketing and Publicity. Charlton Villavelez has been promoted to Production Coordinator for Simon & Schuster Children’s.

Sean Murray has been promoted to Executive Director of Sales at Sourcebooks.

Alyssa Awe has been promoted to SVP, Strategic Operations and Projects for Penguin Random House. Kim Thornton has been promoted to Senior Agent Director, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, at Penguin Random House Speakers Bureau. At Random House Children’s Books, Mary McCue has been promoted to Director of Publicity, while Kristin Schulz has been promoted to Manager, School & Library Marketing and Emily Petrick moves up to Assistant Manager, School & Library Marketing. At Waterbrook Multnomah, Andrew Stoddard is now Lead Acquisitions Editor. Georgia Bodnar moves up to Associate Editor at Viking. At Dutton, Stephanie Kelly is now Editor and Katie Zaborsky becomes Associate Editor. At Ten Speed Press, Daniel Wikey has been promoted to Senior Marketing Manager and Erin Welke to Senior Publicity Manager. In addition, Kaitlin Ketchum has been promoted to Senior Editor. At Putnam, Carolyn Darr and Madeline Schmitz have each been promoted to Associate Publicist.

At HarperCollins Children’s Books, Erica Sussman is now Editorial Director of a new team focused on middle grade and young adult fiction. She is joined by Kristen Pettit, Executive Editor; Emilia Rhodes, Senior Editor; Alice Jerman, Associate Editor; Elizabeth Lynch, Assistant Editor; and Stephanie Stein, Editor. Natalie Hallak has been promoted to Assistant Editor at Park Row Books and Hanover Square Press.

Rebecca Carlisle has been promoted to Senior Director of Publicity and Marketing at Workman, and Chloe Puton has been promoted to Associate Director of Publicity.

Tessa Ingersoll has been promoted to Associate Director of International Sales at Chronicle Books. Lynda Zuber Sassi has been promoted to Director of International and Subsidiary Rights Sales.

Cynara Geissler has been promoted to Director of Marketing and Publicity at Arsenal Pulp Press.

At Lerner Publishing Group, Jill Braithwaite has been promoted to Publishing Director, Trade. In addition, Jenny Kruger is now Publishing Director, School & Library, while Mark Budde has been named EVP, Chief Operations Officer.

At agencies…Mia Roman is now Foreign Rights Associate at New Leaf Literary & Media, and Jordan Hamessley has become Literary Agent. At Martin Literary & Media Management, Adria Goetz has been promoted to Literary Manager.

At Soho Press, Amara Hoshijo has been promoted to Associate Editor and Rights Manager.

Joy Fowlkes has been promoted to Head of Content at MentorBox.

At Holiday House, Emily Mannon has been promoted to Marketing Coordinator and Emily Campisano to Associate Publicist.

DULY NOTED

Cognella has partnered with the Independent Publishers Group for distribution and fulfillment.

Simon & Schuster will distribute Pike and Powder Publishing Group, a new publisher focused on historical fiction, science fiction, and military and social history.

Rachel Hecht Children’s Scouting has been appointed literary scout for television by The Fred Rogers Company.

The Association of American University Presses has formally changed its name to the Association of University Presses, or AUPresses.