PEOPLE
At Firebrand Group, founder and longtime head Fran Toolan will retire at the end of January 2023, to be succeeded by Angela Bole, presently CEO of the Independent Book Publishers Association. Toolan will continue on as a member of the Firebrand board of directors.
Tara Catogge has been named COO of Insight Editions and Weldon Owens. She was most recently COO at Quarto Publishing Group. Amanda Hariri joins Insight Editions as Publicist.
Glenn D’Agnes, COO and CFO of Workman Publishing, has retired. At Algonquin Young Readers, Cheryl Klein joins as Editorial Director, a position she previously held at Lee & Low Books.
Sue Daulton has retired as SVP of Operations at Penguin Random House Audio. Also in that division, Abby Oladipo joins as Editor, acting as primary editorial contact for Random House Publishing Group’s imprints. Previously she was Senior Production Editor with Random House/Division 17. At Penguin Publishing Group, Carolina Meurkens joins the marketing strategy team as Multicultural Marketing Manager. Esi Sogah, formerly Executive Editor at Kensington, joins Berkley as Executive Editor. Emi Ikkanda will join Tiny Reparations Books as Executive Editor on August 1, also acquiring selectively for Dutton and Plume. She was previously Senior Editor at Seal Press. At Riverhead, Bianca Flores joins as Publicity Manager, replacing Maya Zhee Lim, who is leaving to pursue her writing career full-time. Megan Whalen joins Ballantine as Associate Marketing Manager. Tori Henson joins Del Rey as Associate Marketing Manager. At Clarkson Potter, Deanne Katz joins as Editor. At Random House Worlds, Matt Belford joins as Editor. Angela Song, lately Assistant Editor at Clarion Books, joins Random House Children’s Books as Associate Editor. Associate Editor Elizabeth Stranahan moves over from Crown Books for Young Readers to Random House Books for Young Readers, still as Associate Editor. Jordana Kulak, formerly Publicist at Scholastic, joins Penguin Young Readers as Senior Publicist. And Vanessa DeJesús, formerly Senior Publicist at Penguin Young Readers, joins the Random House imprint as Publicity Manager.
Elina DeVos, previously Sales Manager, Key Accounts at Barefoot Books, has joined TCM as VP of Trade and Consumer Sales.
Kent Watson has been named Executive Director of Small Press Distribution. He served as Executive Director of PubWest from 2007 to 2020.
At Macmillan, Bill Barry, who oversees sustainability and business partnerships, will retire on July 1, after forty years in the business. Emily Mlynek joins Tom Doherty Associates as Director of Marketing; she was previously Assistant Director at G.P. Putnam’s Sons. Associate Editor Rachel Bass has left Tor to work freelance.
At Sourcebooks, Tracy Nelson joins as Senior Director of Sales, National Accounts; she was formerly Director, Retail Field Sales at Simon & Schuster. Christina Noriega, lately Director of Gift & Special Sales at Baker & Taylor Publishing Services, joins as Director of Gift Sales. Raquel Latko, lately a consultant and previously Senior General Merchandise Manager at ReaderLink Distribution Services, joins as National Account Manager, Adult Mass Market. Renee Letz joins the company as Production Editor, working primarily in the Wonderland imprint of Sourcebook Kids. Shane Saldana joins as Helpdesk Support Technician. And Bill Preston, Senior Account Executive, Mass Merchant and New Business Development, has retired.
Corrin Foster, previously Director of Branding and Marketing at Greenleaf Book Group, joins Advantage|ForbesBook as Senior Director of Book Marketing and Promotions.
At Bloomsbury, Lauren Mosely joins as Marketing Director; she was previously Associate Marketing Director at Algonquin. Additionally, Kenli Young joins as Marketing Associate.
Claire Laine joins Graywolf Press as Publicity Director. She was previously Senior Publicist at Milkweed Editions.
At little bee books, Alexis Lunsford joins as Director of Sales; she was previously Senior National Account Manager at Callisto Media. Maggie Salko joins as Marketing Coordinator.
Lynn Hildebrandt, Sales Director at Peachtree and Holiday House, has retired.
At Scholastic, Brooke Shearouse, lately Publicity Manager at Abrams Children’s Books, joins as Associate Director of Publicity. Katie Dutton, formerly Senior Associate for School and Library Marketing at HarperCollins Children’s Books, joins as Associate Marketing Manager for Middle Grade Marketing.
In agency news…Raven Quill Literary Agency is merging with The Tobias Literary Agency. As a result, Raven Quill Founder Jacqui Lipton joins Tobias as Senior Agent and Head of Adult. Kelly Dyksterhouse joins as Literary Agent, Children’s, a title she previously held at Raven Quill. Raven Quill clients will move with their agents and be represented by Tobias going forward. Lori Steel, lately Agent at Raven Quill, joins Red Fox Literary as Agent. Lane Clarke is joining ArtHouse Literary Agency as Associate Agent. Jennifer Chen Tran, Literary Agent and Contracts Manager, has parted ways with Idea Architects. Amy Collins, Squid Ink Literary Agency Founder, has affiliated with Miller Bowers Griffin Literary Management. And Cynthia Cannell will close her eponymous agency next March.
Christopher Richards will join Scribner as Executive Editor on July 11. He was previously Senior Editor at Penguin Press. Amanda German, formerly Assistant Manager, Gift Sales at Workman, joins the Simon & Schuster special markets team as Assistant Manager, Gift Sales. Dustin Ross joins as National Account Manager, Distribution Client Sales. At Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, Anna Elling joins as Publicist; she was previously Associate Publicist at Penguin Young Readers. At Atria, Dayna Johnson joins as Marketing Manager. And at Atheneum, Feather Flores, previously Assistant Editor at Chronicle Books, joins as Editor.
Gabriella Page-Fort, previously Editorial Director at Amazon Crossing, joins the HarperOne Group as Executive Editor. Jennifer Dee, formerly Publicity Manager at Penguin Young Readers, joins Harper360 as Publicity Manager. At the William Morrow Group, Alex Casement joins as Senior Publicist and Rachel Berquist joins as Marketing Manager. Julia Tyler joins HarperCollins Children’s Books as Designer; she was previously Art Director and Designer at Page Street Books. At Harlequin, Associate Editor Carly Silver departs; she can be reached at carlyasilver@gmail.com.
Karen Longino joins Dexterity as Executive Brand Manager. Previously she was Senior Acquisitions Editor at Hachette.
At Basic Books and Seal Press, Rachel Molland joins as Publicist. Previously she was Associate Publicist at Doubleday. Martina Rethman joins Little, Brown Children’s as Production Associate.
In publicity agency news, Layne Mandros joins Books Forward as Publicist and Keely Bomee Platte, Publicity Director, has left BookSparks. She can be contacted at keely.platte@gmail.com.
At The Mysterious Press, Luisa Cruz Smith has been named Editor-in-Chief. For the past three years she has been Editor-in-Chief of Scarlet, another imprint of Penzler Publishers, and will retain that position.
At Abrams, Andrew Levinsky joins as Senior Financial Analyst. Jenna Lisanti returns to the company as Senior Marketing Manager, Children’s Books; she was most recently a children’s marketing consultant. Annaliese “Anna” Merz joins as Associate Publicist, Abrams Children’s. Ashley Albert, formerly Copywriter at Scholastic, joins Abrams Children’s as Associate Managing Editor.
Darcy Piedmonte joins NetGalley as Senior Sales Manager. She was formerly Director of Client Success at Above the Treeline.
At Haymarket Books, Katy O’Donnell, lately Senior Editor at Bold Type Books, joins as Senior Editor.
Jess Verdi joins Alcove Press as Senior Editor. Previously she was Acquisitions and Developmental Editor at Crazy Maple Studio.
Dani Valladares joins Mayo Clinic Press as Managing Editor, Children’s Acquisitions. Previously she was Editorial Lead for Rodale Kids.
At Johns Hopkins University Press, Gioia Milano joins as Marketing Specialist; she was previously Director of Education, Exhibitions, and Programs at the Italian Cultural Center of Baltimore. Rachel Miller, previously Sales Manager at Island Press, joins as Sales Manager.
Bre’Anna Girdy joins Kensington as Digital Content Coordinator.
Madison Karpiej joins Candlewick Press as Promotional Material Production Coordinator.
At City Lights Publishers, Natalie Longwell joins as Publicity and Marketing Associate.
At Chronicle, Sara Boncha joins as Subsidiary Rights Manager; Nisha Barnes joins as Diversity, Learning, and Development Manager; and Deanna Quinones joins as Copywriter.
Riley Jay Davis joins Minnesota Historical Society Press as Sales Manager.
At Verto Literary Group, Eli Mennerick joins as Assistant Editor.
Megha Majumdar, Senior Editor at Catapult, has left the company to pursue writing and teaching.
Jelani Cobb has been named Dean of the Columbia Journalism School.
