People Round Up, Early August 2024

PEOPLE

Bob Miller, founder, president, and publisher of Flatiron Books is leaving the company. Celadon president and publisher Deb Futter will be Miller’s replacement and will now be president and publisher of Celadon Books & Flatiron Books.

At Simon & Schuster, Eliza Kirby has joined Weldon Owen as editor. She was formerly editor at Rebel Girls. Ashley Herzig has joined as national account manager for Amazon. Alex Yokom, formerly buyer at Browser Bookshop, is joining as telesales account manager for the western region. Jerry Jensen, national accounts manager has left the company.

Hachette Book Group, Sophie Cottrell, SVP of corporate communications will leave the company at the end of August after working for the company for the past 35 years. Raquel Pelzel will join Voracious as editorial director on September 3rd, reporting to Michael Szczerban. She was previously editorial director for cooking at Clarkson Potter. Mollie Weisenfeld, associate editor, is leaving the company.

Open Road Media sees Christine Gillespie as SVP and publisher reporting to CEO David Steinberger, overseeing their publishing catalog, co-publishing partnerships, and initiatives in audio and licensing. Mara Anastas will now be VP, special projects, reporting to Steinberger.

Words Without Borders has announced Elisabeth Jaquette as the new executive director. Jaquette is the first professional literary translator to serve as executive director. She will begin her new role on September 1, 2024. Jaquette currently serves as the executive director of the American Literary Translators Association, an organization she has led since 2017.

At Penguin Random House, Gillian Arthur has joined Crown as proofreader and copy editor. Mia Gelb has joined Random House Children’s Books as marketing assistant for licensed and proprietary brands.

At Macmillan Publishers, Alexis Neuville is joining St. Martin’s Publishing Creative Studio as manager for audience experience. Mac Nicholas is joining as manager for audience development. Macey Best has joined as inventory analyst for supply chain. Jasmine Cabrera has joined as inventory specialist. Kemdi O’koro as senior finance analyst. Kylie Thalheimer has joined as sales assistant. Hallie Young has joined as assistant for academic and library marketing. Anaka Allen has joined as a contracts associate.

At Sourcebooks, Corrin Bronersky has joined as publishing marketing assistant. Shaina Olmanson has joined as senior editor for Bloom Books.

Created by Humans sees Mark Bryant, formerly editor at large at Scribd, join as author relations lead. Matthew Moore has joined as general counsel.

At PJ Library, Brian Buerkle has been named global publisher relations manager. He will still continue to act as buyer for international and domestic titles.

Tattered Cover, CFO Brad Dempsey and COO Jeremy Patlen have left the company. Derek Holland has been named managing director, responsible for all book selling operations. He will also be the senior store manager at the Colfax location. Individual store managers have also been confirmed: Katie Bierzychudek at Colfax; Scott Patnesky at Aspen Grove, and John Michael Wolter at Stanley Market Place.

At Stanford University Press starting September 1s the press will be represented wholesale and trade retail by the Columbia University Press Sales Consortium. Ingram Academic and Professional will continue to handle distribution and fulfillment.

Interlink Publishing, founders Michel and Ruth Moushabeck have transferred ownership of the company to their three daughters Leyla, Hannah, and Maha, and son-in-law Harrison Williams

At Kirkus Reviews, John McMurtie became nonfiction editor on August 1st, reporting to editor in chief Tom Beer. He was senior editor at Zyzzyva and was previously the books editor at the San Francisco Chronicle until 2019.

In Agency News…

Taryn Fagerness Agency sees Christine Perry join as an associate agent. She was previously a senior scout at Barbara Tolley and Associates.

PROMOTIONS

At Simon & Schuster, Doug Stambaugh has been promoted to SVP for corporate development and business operations. Amy Rohn has been promoted to national accounts manager.

At Macmillan Publishers, Megan Lynch has been promoted to EVP and publisher of Flatiron Books, reporting to Futter. Ana Couto has been promoted to marketing associate at St. Martin’s Publishing Group. Stephen Erickson has been promoted to marketing manager at St. Martin’s Publishing Group. Angela Hinck has been promoted to associate manager for marketing and sales operations. Kukuwa Fraser has been promoted to editor at Flatiron Books. Cristina Cushing has been promoted to associate sales director. Christine Jaeger has been promoted to VP for merchandising and distribution.

HarperCollins, Edie Astley has been promoted to associate editor at Harper. Katie O’ Callaghan has been promoted to executive director of marketing at Harper. Amanada Pritzker is being promoted to executive director of marketing at Harper. Tom Hopke has been promoted to director of marketing at Harper. Jessica Gilo has been promoted to director of marketing at Harper. Becca Putman has been promoted to director of marketing at Harper. Lindsey Reeder has been promoted to marketing director at Harlequin Trade Publishing. Julie Paulauski has been promoted to assistant director of publicity at the Morrow Group. Robby Imfeld has been promoted to senior marketing director at HarperCollins Children’s Books. Taylan Salvati has been promoted to senior publicity manager. Anna Ravenelle has been promoted to publicist. Abby Dommert has been promoted to publicist. Lisa Calcasola has been promoted to senior marketing associate for the teen team at HarperCollins Children’s Books.

At Penguin Random House, Rob Valois has been promoted to VP, associate publisher, and editorial director of Penguin Workshop. Sydney Collins has been promoted to associate editor for Ballantine.

Girl Friday Productions has promoted Dave Valencia to co-owner and COO.

Yale University Press has promoted Adina Popescu to executive editor.

DULY NOTED

The IBPA Book Award for it’s 37th year has announced seven new categories recognizing marginalized communities, namely: AAPI, Black/African American, Disabled, First Nations/Indigenous, Latina/o/e, LGBTQIA2+, and Neurodivergent. The entry deadline is September 30 for books published January-September 2024, and December 16 for books published October-December 2024. More details at https://www.ibpabookaward.org/

East Bay Booksellers in Oakland, CA was destroyed due to a fire. A GoFundMe has been set up to help rebuild the store. The fundraiser has a goal of $200,000, with more than $36,000 raised in the first 24 hours.

Sweet Valley High creator Francine Pascal, 92, died on July 28th.

Irish author Edna O’Brien, 93, died on July 27th. She won the Irish PEN lifetime achievement award in 2001 and the PEN/Nabokov award for achievement in international literature in 2018.

EVENTS

Bienal Internacional do Livro de São Paulo

Aug 6- 15

São Paulo, BR

Ghana International Book Fair

Aug 8-11

Accra, Ghana

World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon)

Aug 8- 12

Glasgow, UK

Edinburgh International Book Fair

Aug 10-25