PEOPLE
Writer and podcast host Zibby Owens is launching Zibby Books with Leigh Newman, herself a writer as well as Editor-at-Large at Black Balloon. Owens will serve as CEO and Reader-in-Chief; Newman will be President and Editor-in-Chief. Steph Opitz, Founding Director of The Loft Literary Center, joins as VP, Partnerships. Laura Rossi, lately Principal and Director of Publicity at Laura Rossi Public Relations, is Director of Corporate Communications. Nina Vargas joins as Senior Marketing Manager and Sherri Puzey joins as Marketing Manager. In the editorial department, Carolyn Murnick, previously Senior Editor at New York Magazine, joins as Senior Editor, and Emily Sharp, most recently Associate Editor at Moms Don’t Have Time To Read Books, joins as Associate Acquisitions Editor. Jordan Blumetti will serve as Editor-at-Large. Additionally, Chelsea Grogan, formerly Podcast Producer and Senior Operations Manager at Moms Don’t Have Time To Read Books, joins as Managing Editor, while Chrystal Gray joins as Operations Manager.
Stacy Lellos joins Workman Children’s Books as Publisher on October 18. Most recently she was President at Klutz.
Traci N. Todd, most recently Children’s Publishing Director at Workman, joins little bee books as Publisher.
John Aden joins David C Cook as CEO. He was previously EVP at Walmart.
Sean McManus joins Dreamscape Media, Midwest Tape’s publishing and entertainment arm, as President. He was previously Head of Audiobooks at Spotify.
At Barnes & Noble, Maureen Paradine joins as SVP, Chief Human Resources Officer. Most recently she was SVP, Human Resources at 1-800-Flowers.com, Inc.
At Macmillan, Diana Gee joins as Senior Director of Product Operations. Previously she was Production Director at Simon & Schuster. Sean Ford, formerly Senior Production Manager at Hachette Book Group, joins as Director, Workflow Systems, and Chris Letso, lately Manager, Content Management at HarperCollins, joins as Manager, Workflow Systems. Karen Chau, formerly Partner Manager at Rebel Girls, joins as Contracts Associate. Lizz Blaise, lately Managing Editorial Associate at HarperCollins, joins as Managing Editor. Ally McNamara, previously Sales Coordinator, Field Sales at Workman, joins as Assistant Manager, Gift Sales. Margaret Sweeney joins as Metadata Associate. Additionally, Jonathan-Cheehong Chia joins as Junior Royalties Accountant and Camille Bastian joins as Payroll Manager.
Elsewhere in the company: Kat Kopit, lately Managing Editor at Yen Press, joins Macmillan Children’s as Associate Director, Production Editorial. Chantal Gersch joins as Publicist; she had been Associate Publicist at Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing. At St. Martin’s Publishing Group, Hannah Jones joins as Senior Managing Editor, a title she previously held at Hachette Book Group. At Farrar, Straus & Giroux/Picador, Hillary Tisman, most recently Head of Literary Marketing for Little, Brown in the UK, joins as Associate Director of Marketing. Nick Stewart joins as Senior Marketing Manager; he had been working as Digital Marketing Manager at Grove Atlantic. Amber Williams joins as Associate Marketing Manager. Caitlin O’Beirne, formerly Creative Marketing Manager at Trident Media Group, joins as Assistant Marketing Manager. Asharee Peters joins as Marketing Coordinator.
At Simon & Schuster Children’s, Tara Shanahan joins as Publicity Director; she was previously Associate Director of Publicity at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Nicole Valdez, lately Marketing and Public Relations Manager at Random House Graphic, joins as Senior Publicity Manager. Morgan Maple joins as Publicist. She was previously Associate Publicist at Penguin Random House. Nia Todd, lately Assistant Marketing and Sales Coordinator at Media Source Inc., joins as Children’s Education Assistant Marketing Manager. At Simon & Schuster, Kaitie Leary, most recently Marketing Associate at William Morrow, joins as Marketing Manager, Book Clubs and Partnerships, while Jennifer Lipman, most recently Manager, Imprint Sales at Penguin Random House, joins as Manager, Corporate and Premium Sales. Rebecca Rozenberg, previously Publicist at Johns Hopkins University Press, joins as Senior Publicist.
Saimah Haque joins Hachette Book Group as Director of Consumer Marketing. Previously she worked as Director of Advertising & Paid Digital Media at Simon & Schuster.
Rachel Kempster Barry joins Insight Editions as VP of Marketing, Publicity, and E-Commerce. Previously she was VP, Marketing and Publicity at DK. Colleen Lindsay joins as Senior Publicity and Marketing Strategist; previously, she was Publicity Lead at Amazon Publishing. Additionally, Kayla Kohlmeister joins as Associate Publicist and Marketing Strategist. She had been Sales Coordinator at Chronicle Books. Justin Eisinger, previously Editorial Director of Graphic Novels and Collections at IDW Publishing, joins as Senior Editor. Scott Nybakken, previously Editor at DC Comics and Fantagraphics Books, joins as Senior Editor. Jan Neal, previously Senior Production Editor and Acquisitions Editor for Alpha Books, joins as Senior Production Editor. Samantha Holland, lately Associate Editor at Callisto Media, joins as Editor. Additionally, Chelsea Lobey joins in the new role of Group Publishing Coordinator. At Weldon Owen, Karyn Gerhard joins as Senior Editor; she has worked previously as Senior Acquisitions Editor for Alpha Books/DK. John Foster, lately Senior Editor at Quarto, joins as Senior Editor. And Claire Yee joins as Editor; she was previously Associate Editor at Callisto Media.
At Scholastic, Clarissa Wong joins as Executive Editor. She was formerly Senior Editor at HarperCollins.
At Kids2, Sophie Partridge joins as VP. Previously she was EVP, Global Publisher for Phoenix International Publications.
Liz Dresner joins Sourcebooks Fire as Senior Art Director. She was previously Associate Art Director at Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group. Additionally, Keri Haddrill joins Sourcebooks as Sales Coordinator.
At Penguin Random House Audio, Siobhan O’Hare joins as Product Director for Ahab Talent and Volumes. Most recently she was VP, Content at Orbis Technologies. Alexandra Hernandez, lately Publicity Manager at Levine Querido, joins as Publicist, Listening Library. Brittanie Black joins as Publicist, focusing on Random House Publishing Group titles. At Portfolio/Sentinel, Kirsten Berndt, previously Publicist at Simon & Schuster, joins as Publicity Manager, and Heather Faulls joins as Marketing Manager. And at Random House Children’s Books, Rebecca Vitkus joins as Managing Editor. She was previously Senior Production Editor at Simon & Schuster.
At Chronicle Books, Leslie Davisson, formerly National Accounts Manager, Specialty Retail at Simon & Schuster, joins as Director, Special Sales. Sandy Frank joins as Designer, Children’s Publishing.
Sarah Rainone joins Idea Architects as Editorial Director. In the past, she worked as Editorial Director of Elyse Cheney Literary Associates.
Author Terrence McCauley joins Wolfpack Publishing as Director of Public Relations. Jennifer Hendricks joins CKN Christian Publishing, an imprint of Wolfpack, as Managing Editor.
In agency news…Amy Hughes, lately Agent at Dunow, Carlson & Lerner, is launching her own agency. Laura Yorke is launching Laura Yorke Literary Services, leaving her previous position as Literary Agent at Carol Mann Literary Agency. Saint Gibson joins Speilburg Literary Agency as Literary Agent and Subsidiary Rights Manager. She was previously Assistant Acquisitions Editor at Tantor Media. Sarah N. Fisk, formerly board member and Agent Liaison for Pitch Wars, joins Tobias Literary Agency as Assistant Agent.
Editor, journalist, and author Elizabeth “Biz” Mitchell joins HarperOne as Executive Editor. Daniella Wexler joins that imprint as Senior Editor, also acquiring for Harper Via and Amistad. She had been Editor at Atria. Jenny Xu moves to Ecco from Mariner to become Poetry Editor, as well as Editor at Harper.
Harold Underdown joins Kane Press as Executive Editor. Previously he was Senior Academic Designer at McGraw-Hill Education. Amelia Mack joins Hippo Park and mineditionUS as Art Director; she had been working as Children’s Art Director at Chronicle Books.
At Verto Literary, Alexis Washam joins as Executive Editor. Previously she was Editorial Director of Hogarth.
Valerie Boyd and Cynthia R. Greenlee have been named Editors-at-Large at the University of Georgia Press. Boyd is an author and journalism professor at UGA, while Greenlee is a historian serving as Senior Editor at The Counter.
Michele Matrisciani joins McGraw-Hill Business as Senior Editor. In the past, she was Editorial Director of HCI Books.
Lilith Dorko joins Oxford University Press as Editorial Manager, Science and Medicine. Previously she was Senior Editor, Psychology and Cognitive Science at Springer Nature.
At Jaded Ibis Press, Lisa Pegram joins as Acquisitions Editor. Previously she was Program Director at DC Writers Corps.
At C&T Publishing, Madison Moore, formerly Associate Editor at Albert Whitman and Company, joins as Acquisitions Editor.
Allie Jones joins Holiday House/Peachtree/Pixel+Ink as Marketing Designer. Previously she was Marketing and Graphic Designer at LaDove.
Stephanie Fidis joins Callisto Media as National Account Support Specialist for the Readerlink team. She was previously Sales Representative, Out of Print, at Penguin Random House.
At Valiant Entertainment, Nic Osborn joins as Marketing Coordinator.
Kaylee Duff joins Maria B. Campbell Associates as Children’s Literary Scouting Associate.
PROMOTIONS
David Ebershoff now serves as Editor-in-Chief at Hogarth and will continue to edit a curate list for the Random House imprint. At Penguin Random House, Andrea Saggau becomes Assistant Director, Digital Operations and Allison Rothstein becomes Assistant Director, Digital Customer Operations, while Ayisha Clarke moves up to Senior Manager, Digital Customer Operations. Sara DeLozier has been promoted to Senior Publicist at Viking Penguin, where Britta Galanis and Bel Banta both move up to Associate Publicist. At Convergent, Ashley Hong becomes Associate Editor. At Doubleday, Khari Dawkins becomes Assistant Editor.
At Macmillan, Brad Umbaugh has become VP, Finance Operations. Brad Wood is now Senior Director, Amazon. Carolyn Telesca has become Director, Adult Trade Production and Manufacturing, overseeing all adult imprints. Taylor Armstrong has been promoted to Associate Director, Custom Sales and Subscription Boxes. Yana Hosken moves up to Senior Manager, Accounting. Vivian Richardson is now Receiving Manager at the MPS Virginia warehouse. Trish Madson moves up to Senior National Account Manager, RDS and Costco, while Jasmine Key has been promoted to Associate National Account Manager and Kathleen McCutcheon has been promoted to Associate National Account Manager, Bookazine, Adult, and Airports. Emily Day becomes Associate Manager, Library Marketing, and Amanda Roundtree moves up to Manager, Library Marketing. Kara Warschausky moves up to Retail Marketing Manager. Sage Daugherty becomes Inside Sales Rep, Field Sales.
Elsewhere in the company: Daniel del Valle has been promoted to Director of Marketing for FSG and Picador. Lottchen Shivers is now Director of Publicity at Picador, where Madeline Day moves up to Assistant Publicist. At FSG, Brian Gittis and Steve Weil both move up to Associate Director, Publicity, while Claire Tobin becomes Associate Publicist and Jonathan Woollen becomes Assistant Publicist. At Tom Doherty Associates, Alison Fisher has been promoted to Executive Editor; Peter Lutjen moves up to Creative Director; Jamie Stafford-Hill becomes Senior Associate Art Director; and Lesley Worrell moves up to Associate Art Director. Additionally, Rebecca Naimon is now Publishing Operations Coordinator and Julia Bergen is now Marketing Manager. At St. Martin’s Publishing Group, Hannah Nesbat has been promoted to Senior Manager, Media and Audio Intelligence, Alyssa Gammello becomes Associate Publicist, and Alex Brown becomes Assistant Editor, while Meghan Harrington moves up to Senior Publicist at St. Martin’s Publishing Group/Wednesday Books. At Roaring Brook Press, Kate Meltzer becomes Senior Editor, Taylor Pitts becomes Senior Production Editor, and Arik Harden moves up to Assistant Managing Editor.
Lisa Moraleda has been promoted to Executive Director, Publicity at Simon & Schuster Children’s and will serve as head of publicity for all imprints. Shivani Annirood and Jenny Lu both move up to Publicist. At Atria, Shida Carr and Ariele Fredman have both been promoted to Deputy Director of Publicity, while Gena Lanzi is now Senior Publicist. Maudee Genao becomes Marketing Associate. Michelle Herrera Mulligan moves up to Executive Editor. At Avid Reader Press, Julianna Haubner has been promoted to Editor. Emily Varga is now Lecture Agent at Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau. At Simon & Schuster, Annie Craig moves up to Managing Editor, while Allison Green, Iris Chen, and Rafael Taveras each become Assistant Managing Editor.
At Wiley Research, Jay Flynn has been named EVP, succeeding Judy Verses. Verses is leaving the company for personal reasons.
Catherine Zappa has been promoted to VP of Digital Acquisitions at Hoopla Digital.
At Sasquatch Books, Jen Worick is now Publisher, Jill Saginario becomes Acquisitions Editor, and Alison Keefe is promoted to Design & Production Manager.
At Regnery/Salem Books, Julie Jayne moves up to Associate Publisher.
Susan Brooke becomes Associate Publisher at Phoenix International Publications.
At Two Lines Press, CJ Evans has been promoted to Editor-in-Chief and Sarah Coolidge has been promoted to Editor.
Nicole Caputo has been named Creative Director at Soft Skull Press, in addition to her existing role as Creative Director of Catapult and Counterpoint Press. Stella Cabot Wilson is now Associate Editor for Catapult Magazine and Don’t Write Alone. At Catapult, Allisen Hae Ji Lichtenstein has been promoted to Assistant Editor.
At Sourcebooks, Heather VenHuizen is now Senior Art Director. Carrie Conlisk and Cari Zwolinski both move up to Senior Sales Coordinator.
At Phaidon, Ellie Levine has been promoted to Marketing Director, North America.
At Hearst Books, Nicole Fisher is now Deputy Books Director.
Yaffa Jaskoll has been promoted to Creative Director, Licensing Design at Scholastic. Doan Buu and Maeve Norton both become Associate Art Director, while Stephanie Yang moves up to Senior Designer and Rae CraDC Comicswford becomes Designer. Additionally, Mallory Kass is now Executive Editor; Katie Heit, Senior Editor; Rachel Matson, Editor; and Shelly Romero and Talia Seidenfeld, both Associate Editor.
In agency news, Cassie Mannes Murray has been promoted to Literary Agent at Howland Literary.
At Franklin & Siegal, Nicole Thomas and Chloe Walker have both been promoted to Senior Literary Scout. Sadie Resnick moves up to Literary Scout.
Pamela Bobowicz moves up to Executive Editor at Workman Children’s. Stephanie Mendoza becomes Senior Publicity Manager at Algonquin Books and Algonquin Young Readers, while Kelly Doyle moves up to Associate Publicist for those imprints. Sarah Alpert becomes Editor at Algonquin Young Readers.
Jennia Herold D’Lima has been promoted to Senior Editor at Sword and Silk Books, while Nicole Bezanson moves up to Acquisitions Editor.
At Little, Brown and Company, Gabrielle Leporati becomes Associate Publicist.
Margot Mallinson is now Associate Editor at MIRA.
At Insight Editions, Marysol Olvera is now Marketing and Publicity Associate.
DULY NOTED
IDW Publishing and Penguin Random House Publisher Services (PRHPS) have entered an exclusive worldwide multi-year sales and distribution agreement, effective June 1, 2022, for IDW’s frontlist and backlist comic book periodicals, trade collections, and graphic novels to direct market comic book shops. PRHPS already distributes the frontlist and backlist to bookstores.
Astra Publishing has launched a children’s division, Astra Books for Young Readers, which will house one new imprint, Astra Young Readers, and five existing imprints: Calkins Creek, Hippo Park, Kane Press, mineditionUS, and Wordsong.
Franklin & Siegal Associates now scouts for Dioptra in Greece.
Rachel Hecht Children’s Scouting is now children’s and YA scout for Oneworld’s Rock the Boat imprint in the UK.
EVENTS
October 7-9
MPIBA FallCon 2021
Denver, CO
October 20-24
Frankfurt Book Fair
Frankfurt, Germany/online
