PEOPLE
Four months after acquiring Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, HarperCollins has announced its integration plans. HarperCollins will launch a yet-unnamed adult imprint to be led by Deb Brody, formerly VP and Publisher for HMH Adult Trade and now VP and Editorial Director at William Morrow. The children’s imprints and HMH Productions, now rebranded as HarperCollins Productions, have become part of HarperCollins Children’s Books, under the direction of President and Publisher Suzanne Murphy. Mariner Books will merge with Custom House, with the Custom House name to be phased out; the imprint will be led by VP and Editorial Director Peter Hubbard. Liane Stehlik oversees the North American Tolkien program, as well as adult properties in the William Morrow Group. HMH Books for Young Readers has been restructured as The Clarion Group, comprising Clarion and Versify and led by VP and Publishing Director Mary Wilson. Graphic novels published under Etch will now be published and cobranded under HarperAlley. Ed Spade, who took over as Head of HMH Trade last November, has been named SVP of Online Sales.
Elsewhere at HarperCollins, Zandra Margariño has joined as SVP of Human Resources. Previously she was Chief People Officer at ThinkFoodGroup. At HarperOne, author and editor Elizabeth Mitchell joins as Executive Editor. Leah Morse joins Harlequin Trade Publishing as Senior Publicist; she was most recently Senior Publicist at Other Press.
At Forbes Books/Advantage Media, Evan Schnittman joins as Global Chief Product Officer. Most recently he was VP of Sales and Business Development at UWorld.
Pearson Chief Product Officer and Co-President, Direct to Consumer Ishantha Lokuge is leaving the company for personal reasons. Tim Bozik, President, Higher Education will add responsibility as Interim Chief Product Officer beginning October 4.
At The New York Times, Molly Young and Alexandra Jacobs join the Books desk as Staff Critics. Young had been Literary Critic at New York Magazine, while Jacobs moves over the Style desk and has freelanced for the New York Times Book Review for over a decade. Additionally, Jennifer Wilson, Contributing Writer for the Books & Arts section at The Nation, will become a contributing essayist for the Book Review.
Coffee House Press has named Anitra Budd as its new Executive Director and Publisher. Most recently she had been a writing professor and freelancer.
Jennifer Nakamura joins Chronicle as Executive Director, Marketing & Ecommerce. Previously she was Head of Marketing & Ecommerce at SOKO. In addition, Olivia Butze joins as Social Media Manager.
At Zando, Chloe Texier-Rose joins as Director of Publicity. Previously she was Senior Publicist at Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
At Walt Disney Television, Clare Richardson joins as Director, Creative Acquisitions. She previously oversaw book scouting for Netflix at Maria B. Campbell Associates. Amy King joins Hyperion Avenue as Art Director; she had been Creative Director at the L.A. Times.
Amelia Mack, lately Art Director at Chronicle Books, joins Astra Publishing House as Art Director.
Senior Strategy Officer Dan Cullen will retire from the American Booksellers Association at the end of the year. Sydney Jarrard has left her position as Content Director to focus on her own writing. Additionally, she will launch an editorial service, Speakeasy Conscious Language Consulting.
At the National Book Foundation, Meg Tansey joins as Director of Development. Most recently she was Development Lead at The Billie Holiday Theatre. Ale Romero, lately Associate Director for Marketing and Communications at Junior Achievement of New York, joins as Communications and Marketing Manager. Additionally, Taylor Michael joins as Program Coordinator; she is also Associate Editor at A Public Space.
At Melville House, Maya Bradford joins as Director of Publicity. She had been Senior Publicist at Abrams prior. Gregory Henry, lately Senior Publicity Manager at HarperCollins, joins as Senior Publicist. Sammi Sontag joins as Publicist. Additionally, Michael Barson joined the company earlier this year as Senior Publicity Executive. His previous positions include Senior Executive, Publicity at G.P. Putnam’s Sons.
At Abrams Children’s, Paul Ruditis joins as Executive Editor, Entertainment and Licensed Publishing, Children’s Books. He was previously Senior Editor at Insight Editions. Diego Lopez, formerly Associate Editor joins as Editor, Entertainment and Licensed Publishing, Children’s Books. Deena Fleming joins Amulet Books as Associate Art Director; she was previously Associate Art Director at Scholastic Book Fairs with Canopy Books and Tangerine Press. Mary Jones, formerly freelance, joins Magic Cat as Editor. At Abrams, Elizabeth Palumbo joins as Associate Managing Editor. Previously she was Senior Managing Editor for Thieme Group. Zack Knoll, previously Associate Editor at Simon & Schuster, joins as Editor.
In agency news…KJ Grow joins KN Literary Arts as General Manager. Most recently she was Publisher at Shambhala Publications. Elizabeth Fithian, lately Agent Director at Penguin Random House Speakers Bureau, joins P.S. Literary Agency as Literary Agent. Barbara Jones, formerly Executive Editor at Henry Holt, joins Stuart Krichevsky Literary Agency as Literary Agent. At Salky Literary Management, Kate Garrick joins as Agent; she had been Literary Agent at The Karpfinger Agency. Shabnam Banerjee-McFarland, formerly Editor and Producer at Berrett-Koehler, joins Odom Media Management as Associate Agent. At the Carol Mann Agency, Dani Segelbaum joins as Literary Agent and Subrights Manager. At Hill Nadel Literary Agency, Lauren Christiansen joins as Editorial and Foreign Rights Associate. Additionally, Founder Sarah Davies will retire from the Greenhouse Literary Agency at the end of the year, and Chelsea Eberly, presently Literary Agent, will take over on January 1.
In scouting news…Dillon Asher joins Maria B. Campbell Associates as Senior Book-to-Film Scout, overseeing Netflix. Previously he was Manager at The Gotham Group. Kaye Baginsky joins Bettina Schrewe Literary Scouting as Junior Scout.
David Bratt and Laura Bardolph Hubers have launched publicity firm, literary agency, and editorial service BBH Literary. Bratt was previously Executive Editor at Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, where Hubers worked as Director of Marketing and Publicity. Additionally, Stephanie Kelly has launched freelance editing service Stephanie Kelly Editorial; she was most recently Senior Editor at Dutton.
At Hogarth, Editorial Director Alexis Washam has left the company. Naomi Gibbs joins Pantheon as Executive Editor. Previously she was Senior Editor at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. At Clarkson Potter, Susan Roxborough, lately Executive Editor at Sasquatch Books, joins as Senior Editor. Novelist John Burnham Schwartz, Director of the Sun Valley Writers Conference, has joined Penguin Press as Editor-at-Large. Isabel DaSilva joins Dutton and Plume as Marketing Manager; she was previously Associate Marketing Manager at Atria. At Random House Children’s Books, Claire Rivkin joins as Subsidiary Rights Coordinator, and Sarah Reck, lately Senior Digital Marketing Manager at the Senator John Heinz History Center, joins as Senior Manager of Brand Marketing.
At Sterling, Laura Schreiber joins as Executive Editor. She was formerly Editorial Director at Jimmy Patterson.
Mike Onorato, previously VP, Publicity at Smith Publicity, joins Sounds True as Director of Publicity.
In university press news, Lindsay Starr joins the University of North Carolina Press as Art Director. She had been Senior Designer at University of Texas Press. At Princeton University Press, Diana Gillooly joins as Executive Editor, Mathematics. Previously she was Senior Editor at Cambridge University Press. At the University of Chicago Press, Sara Doskow joins as Senior Editor for Political Science and Law. She was most recently Senior Editor, Politics and Sociology at Cambridge University Press.
Marisa Siegel joins Northwestern University Press as Senior Acquisitions Editor, Trade. She was previously Owner and Editor-in-Chief of The Rumpus. Faith Wilson Stein, formerly Associate Editor at Stanford University Press, joins as Senior Acquisitions Editor. Kirsten Markusic joins as Digital Content and Systems Coordinator.
David Cashion joins Kevin Anderson & Associates as Senior Editor. He worked previously as Executive Editor at Abrams.
At Broadleaf Books, Adrienne Ingrum, formerly Literary Agent and Freelance Editor at Adrienne Ingrum LLC, joins as Senior Editor.
Cathy Hennessey, formerly Senior Editor at Callisto Media, joins Peter Pauper Press as Senior Editor.
Jay Colvin joins Pixel + Ink as Senior Designer, a position he previously held at Simon Spotlight and Little Simon. Joselin Pichardo joins Holiday House as Production Coordinator.
At Simon & Schuster, Hannah Moushabeck joins as Independent Channel Marketing Manager. She had been Acquiring Editor, Children’s at Interlink Publishing Group. Catherine Laudone joins Paula Wiseman Books as Editor. Most recently she was Associate Editor at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. At Atria, Natalie Hallak, lately Associate Editor at Park Row Books, joins as Editor.
At St. Martin’s Publishing Group, Tiffany Shelton will join as Manager, Acquisitions Outreach and Editor on September 20. Most recently she was Editor at Amazon Publishing.
Melissa Bloomfield joins TvS Media Group as Publicity Manager. She will continue with her present role as Event Coordinator for Brave + Kind Bookshop.
Kristin Errico joins little bee as Managing Editor. She had previously been Managing Editor at Harlequin.
At Candlewick Press, Kristin Zelazko and Olivia Swomley both join as Editors. Zelazko was formerly Senior Editor at little bee, and Swomley was Associate Editor at Workman Publishing. Mona Baloch joins as Imprint Coordinator.
At Callisto Media, Sasha Henriques, formerly Associate Editor at Random House Books for Young Readers, joins as Editor.
At Post Hill Press, Alex Novak joins as Acquiring Editor. Previously he was Publisher at Regnery History. Hannah Schaeffer and Caroline Vaught join as Publicists, and Aleigha Kelly joins as Managing Editor.
Bruna Dantas Lobato joins Words Without Borders as Digital Marketing and Communications Coordinator.
PROMOTIONS
Jared Taylor has been named Chief People Officer at Gibbs Smith.
Sarita Varma is now SVP, Director of Publicity for both Farrar, Straus & Giroux and Picador.
Amy Cox Williams becomes VP of Merchandising at Ingram Content Group.
At Smith Publicity, Janet Shapiro has been promoted to VP of Publicity.
At Amazon Original Stories, Sarah Elison becomes Publicity Lead. At Amazon Publishing, Tyler Freidenrich and Melody Kellis have both become Associate Creative Director.
At Chronicle Prism, Cara Bedick is now Editorial Leader and Eva Avery moves up to Editor. At Chronicle, Genny McAuley has been promoted to Associate Director, Distribution Sales; Tracy Fortini, to Senior Distribution Client Manager; Lauren Hunt, to Subsidiary Rights Coordinator; and Crystal Lee, to Rights Coordinator.
Sarah Shumway has been promoted to Editorial Director at Bloomsbury Children’s.
Kathleen Mertz moves up to Editorial Director for Eerdmans Books for Young Readers; additionally, Holly Hoover has been promoted to Art Director and Courtney Zonnefeld becomes Assistant Editor. At Eerdmans, Lydia Hall is now Production Editor and Alexis Cutler is now Publicist.
At the Chicago Distribution Center, Mark Stewart becomes Director of Distribution and Warehouse Operations.
At Random House Children’s, Kristin Schulz moves up to Assistant Director, School & Library Marketing, while Kristina Forest is promoted to Associate Manager, Subsidiary Rights and Dakota Reed is promoted to Assistant Manager, Subsidiary Rights. Emma Benshoff moves over to Digital Marketing Manager, Young Adult and Middle Grade. At Penguin Young Readers, Shannon Spann moves up to Digital Marketing Manager. Danielle Keir becomes Publicity Manager at Berkley, while Helen Healey becomes Editor at Portfolio and Sentinel. At Knopf, Vanessa Haughton and Todd Portnowitz both move up to Associate Editor, while Marc Jaffee and Rob Shapiro become Assistant Editors.
Mary Laur is now Executive Editor for Reference and Writing Guides at the University of Chicago Press. Kyle Wagner becomes Editor for Religious Studies, Philosophy, and Rhetoric and Communication. David Olsen becomes Associate Editor for Reference. Dylan Montanari has been promoted to Assistant Editor for Art and Ancient Studies.
At Ave Maria Press, Kristi M. McDonald has been promoted to Executive Editor, Trade.
In agency news, Rachel Altemose is now Junior Agent at Salky Literary Management.
Kate Kendrick has been promoted to Global Manager at Astound US Inc.
Amy Beaudoin is now Senior Marketing Manager, Children’s Education at Simon & Schuster Children’s. Additionally, Nicole Benevento has been promoted to Marketing Manager, Children’s Library. Alyza Liu is now Associate Editor, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. At Simon & Schuster, Brigid Black is now Senior Production Manager.
At Abrams, Talia Behrend-Wilcox becomes Senior Manager, Subsidiary Rights.
Maren Fox-Galassi is now Senior Digital Marketing and Design Manager at Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
At Ulysses Press, Claire Sielaff becomes Senior Acquisitions Editor and Juana Castro becomes Senior Manager of Operations.
At Workman, Abigail Sokolsky and Kate Oksen both move up to Marketing Coordinator. Within the children’s publishing group, Gracie Elliott has been promoted to Editor.
Mandy Chahal has been promoted to Associate Marketing Manager of Poisoned Pen Press.
At Other Press, Zoë Miller is now Associate Publicist.
At Pomegranate, Craig Bunn is now Sales Manager.
DULY NOTED
KF Literary Scouting has been appointed US and UK scout for Israel’s Achuzat Bayit.
West Wind Literary Scouting has been appointed US scout for France’s Bragelonne.
Artbook | D.A.P. is now partnering with Ingram Publishing Services International for sales representation and fulfillment in Asia, India, North Africa, and the Middle East.
Beginning April 2022, Consortium Book Sales and Distribution will distribute for Clash Books.
Effective December 31, Chronicle Books will no longer distribute Do Books in the US and Canada. Returns will be accepted through June 30, 2022. Do Books is not moving to a new distributor at this time and will continue to fill web orders directly.
Information technology company and learning platform Course Hero has acquired CliffsNotes from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. It has also purchased AI writing platform QuillBot.
The American Association of Literary Agents (AALA) has elected two new members to its board: Kelly Sonnack of Andrea Brown Literary Agency and Monika Woods of Triangle House Literary. Katie Kotchman (Don Congdon Associates), Ayesha Pande (Ayesha Pande Literary), Farley Chase (Chase Literary Agency), and Regina Brooks (Serendipity Literary Agency) have each been reelected for a second term.
IN MEMORIAM
Jill Sansone and children Emily, Cynthia and Nicholas announced “the loss of our dear Peter Warner on September 9th from complications due to MDS, myelodysplastic syndrome. In lieu of flowers or gifts, we would like to honor him with donations to the MDS Foundation.” A memorial service will be held at a later date, to be announced.
EVENTS
September 14-18
Beijing International Book Fair
Beijing, China
September 24-26
NYU Publishing Boot Camp: Book Editing
online
October 1-3
NYU Publishing Boot Camp: Marketing and Publicity
online
October 3-5
PNBA Fall Trade Show
Portland, OR
October 7-9
MPIBA FallCon 2021
Denver, CO
October 20-24
Frankfurt Book Fair
Frankfurt, Germany/online
