PEOPLE
Julia Sommerfeld, Publisher of Amazon Publishing, has been named Head of Brilliance Publishing, in addition to her existing duties. Christopher Werner joins as Editorial Director; he worked previously as Executive Editor for Amazon Publishing.
At Pearson, Sulaekha Kolloru has joined as Chief Strategy Officer. Most recently she was VP of International Portfolio Strategy and Transformation at Delta Air Lines.
Wattpad Cofounder and CEO Allan Lau has stepped aside from that role and will remain with the company as Executive Advisor to Webtoon. President Jeanne Lam takes over as CEO.
Michael Rentas joins Artbook and Distributed Art Publishers (DAP) as VP and Chief Financial and Operating Officer. He succeeds Yvonne Puffer, who is retiring, and most recently worked as Director of Business Operations & Analysis at Ingram Content Group.
At Ingram Content Group, Mark Ouimet will retire as VP and General Manager of Publisher Services on June 10. His responsibilities will be assumed by VP and General Manager Sabrina McCarthy. Pamela Smith, VP and General Manager, plans to retire at the end of 2022.
Terry Nemeth, Publisher of Theater Communications Group Books (TCG Books), has announced his retirement. The search for a new publisher is underway and the job description is available here.
At the Harper Group, Maya Baran will join as Senior Director of Publicity on June 6. She was most recently Assistant Director of Publicity at Viking Penguin. Sabrina Kenoun, previously Associate Publicist at Sparkpoint Studio, joins HarperCollins Children’s Books as Associate Publicist.
At IDW, Jamie S. Rich joins as Executive Editorial Director. Most recently he was Editor in Chief of Original Comics and Novels at Tapas Media.
Dr. Antonio A. Fierro joins Tools 4 Reading as Chief Academic Advisor. He previously served as Coordinator and Director for Texas’s Reading First initiative.
Laurel Stokes joins Hachette Book Group as Backlist Director. Previously she was National Account Manager at HarperCollins.
Publicity Director Caroline Nitz has left Graywolf Press.
Beth Steidle joins Tin House as Associate Director of Design and Production. Most recently she was Senior Production Manager, Trade at W.W. Norton.
At Sourcebooks, Christina Noriega, most recently Director of Gift and Special Sales at Baker & Taylor Publishing Services, joins as Director of Gift Sales. Raquel Latko joins as National Account Manager, Adult Mass Market; previously she was Senior Product Manager at Readerlink Distribution Services. At duopress, Michele Suchomel-Casey joins as Associate Managing Director.
In agency news…Em Pagano, lately Book Rights Coordinator at Creative Artists Agency, joins Maria B. Campbell as Co-Director, Film and TV. Anne Panciera joins Jane Starr Literary Scouts as Scout. Kathleen Ortiz, formerly Literary Agent at New Leaf Literary & Media, has launched KO Media Management and can be reached at info@komediamanagement.com. Cassie Mannes Murray joins Triangle House Literary and Triangle House Review as Agent and In-House Publicist; previously she was Literary Agent at Howland Literary.
Mallory Hayes, formerly Publicist for 1517 Media, is launching freelance publicity firm Hayes Publicity and can be reached at mallory@hayespublicity.com.
Leila Siddiqui joins DK as Senior Manager, Digital Strategy. Previously she was Marketing Manager at Simon & Schuster. Shina Patel, lately Associate Marketing Manager at Penguin Press, joins Putnam as Marketing Manager.
At Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, Mitch Thorpe joins as Senior Manager of Publicity. Previously he was Publicity Manager at HarperCollins Children’s Books.
Christian Westermann, formerly Associate Manager, Fields Sales and Retail Marketing at Workman and Algonquin, joins Abrams as Senior Marketing Manager.
At New Harbinger Publications, Nora Spiegel joins as Acquisitions Editor. Previously she was Editor at Callisto Media.
Bess Pallares joins Oni-Lion Forge Publishing Group as Editor.
At The Northwest Review, Jay McInerney joins as the journal’s first Advisory Editor.
Karen Gu joins Two Lines Press as Publicist.
At the University of New Mexico Press, Anna Zumbahlen joins as Publicist.
Briana Williams joins Bloomsbury as Marketing Associate. Hannah Bowe, previously Assistant Production Editor at Questar Assessment, joins as Assistant Production Editor, Children’s.
PROMOTIONS
Rachel Kahan is now VP, Executive Editor at William Morrow. Margaret Kercher is now Publicity Director for Fiction at HarperCollins Christian Publishing and HarperCollins Focus. At the Harper Group, Becca Putnam and Tom Hopke each move up to Associate Director of Marketing and Chris Connolly has been promoted to Assistant Marketing Manager. Katie Tull becomes Senior Marketing Manager at the Morrow Group, while Amelia Wood becomes Marketing Manager; additionally, Alison Coolidge and Brittani Hiles both become Senior Publicity Manager and Kelly Shi becomes Publicist. At Harlequin Trade Publishing, Randy Chan has been promoted to Director, Channel Marketing; Diane Lavoie and Rachel Haller have been promoted to Senior Marketing Manager; Eden Church becomes Marketing Manager; and Pamela Osti moves up to Marketing Manager, Channel Marketing.
At Sourcebooks, Shawn Abraham has been promoted to VP, International Sales, while Brian Grogan becomes VP, Mass Market Sales. Margaret Coffee becomes Senior Director of Sales for Indies and Libraries. Tim Golden has been promoted to Director, Special Markets and New Business Development.
At Amazon Original Stories, Kjersti Egerdahl has been promoted to Editorial Director. Tyler Friedenrich moves up to Associate Creative Director at Amazon Publishing.
At the National Book Foundation, Meredith Andrews is now Director of Technology and Special Projects, Natalie Green is now Director of Programs, and Anja Kuipers has been promoted to Administration and Operations Coordinator.
Caitlin Ellis is now Business Development Director at BookBub, Carlyn Robertson moves up to Marketing Lead, and Leila Hirschfeld becomes Account Manager.
At Viking Penguin, Kristina Fazzalaro is now Assistant Director of Publicity. At Sasquatch Books, Steve Wiechert is now Senior Manager of Finance and Operations, while Jennifer Rudsit moves up to Associate Production Manager. Emma Caruso moves up to Editor at The Dial Press. And Caroline Sydney becomes Associate Editor at Penguin Press.
Kelsey Marrujo becomes Assistant Director, Publicity at Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group. Morgan Rath becomes Publicity Manager.
In agency news…Hadley Ramsay has been named Co-Director, Film and TV at Maria B. Campbell Associates. Audrey Crooks becomes Associate Agent at Trident Media Group. At UTA, Lily Dolin has been promoted to Coordinator and Dan Milaschewski moves up to Agent.
Julianne Lewis has been promoted to Senior Marketing Manager at Hachette Books and Hachette Go.
Mary Joyce Perry moves up to Senior Digital Marketing Manager at Holiday House, Peachtree Publishing Company, and Pixel + Ink. Jonah Heller becomes Editor at Peachtree.
At Candlewick, Lauren Pettapiece moves up to Senior Designer and Team Leader of the Judy Moody and Stink series.
At IDW, Charles Beacham and Russ Busse have both been promoted to Senior Editor.
Molly Gregory, Rebecca Strobel, and Max Meltzer have each been promoted to Editor at Gallery Books.
At The Northwest Review, Alexis Sears is now Assistant Poetry Editor.
DULY NOTED
Random House has launched the imprint Random House Worlds, dedicated entirely to licensed books. The imprint will publish branded titles in any genre or format from properties including Star Wars, Minecraft, and Garfield. The frontlist and backlist for these brands, previously published by Del Rey and other imprints, will move over to Random House Worlds in 2023.
