People Round-Up, Early February 2022

PEOPLE

Jamie Raab has become Publisher-at-Large for parent company Macmillan, stepping down from her previous role as President of Celadon Books. Imprint cofounder Deb Futter, previously SVP and Co-Publisher, has consequently been named President and Publisher. Elsewhere at Macmillan, Diane Dilluvio, formerly Associate Director at Wolters Kluwer, also joins the company as Senior Production Manager, while Jared Christopher joins as Technical Specialist; Brittany Greenway, lately Account Manager at Rakuten OverDrive, joins as Indie Sales Representative; Ansley Kent, lately Associate, Subrights at Penguin Random House, joins as Sales Associate; and Hemali Patel joins as Junior Cost Accountant. Colin Krainin joins Macmillan Trade as Assistant Director, Sales Planning and Analytics and Chris Venkatesh joins as National Account Manager, Ebooks. Natalia Becerra, lately Sales Associate at Penguin Random House, joins Macmillan Children’s as National Accounts Manager.

Barbara Briel has become the first person to hold the title of President at Sourcebooks, having worked previously as SVP and COO at the company for ten years. Anna Sargeant joins Sourcebooks eXplore, as Editor. She was most recently Acquisitions Editor at B&H Publishing Group.

Following the sale of Follett Higher Education, Follett Corporation, and Follett ACCESS to private investors led by Jefferson River Capital, Emmanuel Kolady, previously SVP, Head of Stories for the eastern half of CVS Retail, will become Follett’s CEO. Ryan Peterson, previously VP of Strategy and Development at VitalSource Technologies, will serve as President.

As Hachette Audio and Workman Audio consolidate, Workman Audio Publisher Ana Marisa Allessi becomes VP, Publisher of Hachette Audio. Anthony Goff, SVP, Audio Publisher at Hachette Audio, will leave the company on February 11. Also resulting from the Hachette acquisition of Workman, Kate Travers, formerly Executive Director of Digital Operations at Workman, joins Hachette’s marketing strategy team as Executive Director of Ecommerce and D2C Business. Other members of the Workman digital operations team joining Hachette are Rina Mody, Senior Product Analyst; Mike Moglia, Associate Business Analyst; SarahMay Harel, Web and D2C Product Manager; and Julia Rittenberg, D2C Operations Analyst.

Seale Ballenger joins Scholastic as VP, Publicity on February 28. Previously he was Publicity Director at Disney Publishing Worldwide.

Effective February 18, Andy Hunter is leaving his position as Publisher of Catapult, Counterpoint, and Soft Skull Press. Alyson Forbes, the company’s present COO, will serve as Interim Publisher.

Milena Brown joins Doubleday as Director of Marketing, effective February 7. Most recently she was Associate Marketing Director at Atria. Brianne Sperber, lately Assistant Marketing Manager at Harmony/Rodale, moves over to Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed as Assistant Marketing Manager. At Penguin Random House Audio, Dakota Cohen, lately Assistant Marketing Manager at Macmillan Audio, joins as Marketing Manager, Listening Library; Kate Smith joins as Associate Publicist, Listening Library; and Kistal Gordon joins as Marketing Associate. Irene Ng joins Harmony/Rodale as Junior Designer. At Penguin Random House Publisher ServicesHope Ellis joins as Managing Editor, Square Enix. She was previously Managing Editor at Berkley.

At HarperCollins, David Wienier, lately Business Affairs Executive at United Talent Agency, joins the legal department as Assistant General Counsel and HarperCollins Productions as Senior Director of Business. Gretchen Schmid joins Harper Via as Editor; she had been Associate Editor at Viking Penguin.

Shona Burns joins Andrews McMeel Publishing as Group Production Director. She worked in the past as Executive Director, Production & Content Management at Chronicle Books.

At The Experiment, Besse Lynch, previously Publicity Manager at Timber Press, and Melinda Kennedy, previously Marketing Manager at the University of Chicago Press, both join as Senior Publicist.

Holly Ingraham joins Alcove Press as Senior Editor. Most recently she was Acquisitions and Developmental Editor at Crazy Maple Studios.

At Insight Editions, Kris Holden joins as Operations Manager. Tiffani Patterson joins as Production Associate. Maria Spano joins as Managing Editor. And Sadie Lowry, formerly Associate Editor at Gibbs Smith, joins as Assistant Editor.

At SiteFusion ProConsult, the newly-formed North American publishing technology venture between SiteFusion and EBCONT, Jeffrey Wood has been announced as President and COO. Most recently he was CRO at Data Conversion Laboratory.

At New Harbinger Publications, Catharine Meyers has been named Publisher. She joined the company in 1995 and succeeds co-founder Matthew McKay, who will remain on staff in a part-tim capacity and serve on the board of directors.

At The Collective Book Studio, Annette Hobbs Magier joins as Senior Director of Marketing and PR. Formerly she was VP of Marketing and Publicity at Independent Publishers Group.

Jodi Rosoff joins Likewise as Director, Publishing Partnerships. She was previously Director, Marketing and Publicity at Grand Central/Forever.

In agency news…Jennifer Chen Tran joins Idea Architects as Literary Agent. She was previously Agent at Bradford Literary Agency.

Diana Gill, most recently Executive Editor at Tor/Forge, has launched a freelance editing and publishing consulting business, Diana Gill Editorial.

Jessica Brock joins Leo PR as Executive Publicist. Formerly she was Senior Publicist and Digital Media Strategist at Berkley.

Katie Reinhard joins Hallmark Publishing as Marketing Manager on February 7. Previously she was Content Manager at Curiosity Stream.

At Verso Books, Tim Thomas, formerly Publicist at Pegasus Books, joins as Publicist.

Ariana Abad joins Bloomsbury Children’s as Associate Publicist.

At The New York Times, Vanessa Mobley, lately Executive Editor at Little, Brown, joins as Op-Ed Editor on February 7.

Cassie Gitkin joins Callisto Media as Production Editor. She was previously Production Editor at Phoenix International Publications.

At the Book Industry Charitable Foundation, Jennifer Rojas has joined as Development Coordinator and Judey Kalchick has joined as Communication and Project Manager.

Raquel Stecher is leaving her position as Senior Online Marketing Manager and Spanish-Language Social Media Specialist at Candlewick Press. She can be reached at quellebooks@gmail.com.

 
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International Bestsellers, January 2022

Every month, Publishing Trends runs fiction international bestsellers lists from four territories–France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. This month, our four regular territories are joined by two more: South Africa and Sweden. Those books that have been published in English are listed with their official English-language title. All others are translated as literally as possible from the original. Where applicable, the US publisher is listed after the local publisher, separated by a “/”. The lists are taken from major newspapers or national retailers, which are noted at the bottom of each list.

Download the full list as a PDF here.

Top 5 Publishing Articles/Blog Posts of the Week 1/24-1/28

­Red Number 5Every week, we recommend 5 publishing articles/blog posts that supplement the major news for the week. Whether data or industry commentary, we hope these 5 links will be a simple way to keep you in the know.

Who is funding the current wave of book bans?

Two years in, what is Bookshop planning next?

How much money is Substack making by publishing anti-vaxxers?

Has COVID-19 affected the gender gap in medical publishing?

Should all bookstores survive?

Top 5 Publishing Articles/Blog Posts of the Week 1/17-1/21

­Red Number 5Every week, we recommend 5 publishing articles/blog posts that supplement the major news for the week. Whether data or industry commentary, we hope these 5 links will be a simple way to keep you in the know.

Why could a case in Maryland end up shaping terms for digital book borrowing?

Does Colleen Hoover’s TikTok-fueled success reveal anything about current reading habits?

Is the 2022 supply chain forecast becoming any clearer?

What are some pandemic-era best practices for online author events?

How can scholarly publishers prioritize accessibility on a rolling basis?

People Round-Up, Mid-January 2022

PEOPLE

Sonali Fry joins Crown Books for Young Readers as VP and Co-Publisher while continuing to serve as Publisher for Little Golden Books and Sesame Street and Publishing Liaison for Little Tiger Group. At Random House Children’s, Jamie Yee joins as Designer/Digital Artist; she was formerly Assistant Designer at Hachette Book Group. Ray Arjune, lately Publicity Manager at Bloomsbury USA, joins Harmony & Rodale as Publicity Manager.

Kimberly Lau joins Springer Nature as VP, Consumer Media and President of Scientific American. Most recently she was EVP, Strategic Partnerships and Business Development at The Atlantic.

At the newly-rebranded Union Square & Co. (the erstwhile Sterling Publishing), Amanda Englander, previously Executive Editor at Clarkson Potter, joins as Editorial Director. Jessica Firger joins as Senior Editor; formerly she was Senior Health Editor at CNN. Consultant and Editor Claire Wachtel joins as Editor-at-Large. At Union Square Kids, Daniel Denning joins as Marketing Manager and Jenny Lu, lately Publicist at Simon & Schuster, joins as Senior Publicist.

At The Rumpus, Alyson Sinclair joins as Owner and Publisher. She will continue her consulting role with Nectar Literary. Alysia Li Ying Sawchyn took over as Editor-in-Chief in September, succeeding Marisa Siegel Colleen Kolba joins as Comics Editor.

At Catapult, VP and Executive Editor Pat Strachan will retire in March. She joined the house as Founding Editor in 2014.

Amanda Pritzker joins the Harper Group as Senior Marketing Director. Previously she was Director of Marketing & Campaign Strategy at Grand Central Publishing. Kelly Roberts, most recently National Account Manager, Retail at Penguin Random House, joins HarperCollins as Divisional Sales Director.

The Atlantic is expanding its books coverage and has made three news hires: Gal Beckerman, Senior Editor, previously Editor at The New York Times Book Review; Maya Chung, Associate Editor, previously Editor at The New York Review of Books; and Emma Sarappo, Associate Editor, previously Arts Editor at Washington City Paper.

Kevin Callahan joins Abrams as Senior Marketing Director. Previously he was Director, Marketing Operations and Backlist Strategy at Other Press. At Abrams Children’s, Erum Khan joins as Editor, Entertainment and Licensed Publishing. She was formerly Editor at Callisto Media.

Ashley Mitchell, lately Associate Marketing Director at William Morrow, joins Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing as Director of Digital and Social Marketing. Samantha McVeigh joins as Publicist; she was formerly Publicist at Harlequin.

At Independent Publishers Group, Candysse Miller joins as Publicity Director. Previously she was Publisher, Director of Marketing and Communications for Novelstream.

At Zibby BooksTess Day joins as Publicity Director, effective January 31. She was previously Publicist at Smith Publicity.

Jodie Cohen joins Highlights as Director of Retail Marketing, Partnerships, and Licensing. Most recently she was Director of Marketing at Scholastic.

JoAnne Banducci has been named Director at the University of Nevada Press. She has served as Interim Director since March 2020.

At Yale University Press, Jay Cosgrove retired as Sales Director on December 13.

Theresa DeLucci joins Grand Central Publishing as Associate Marketing Director. Previously she was Senior Associate Marketing Director for Tor, Forge, and Nightfire Books. Erika Turner, lately Executive Editor at IDW, joins Little, Brown Books for Young Readers as Executive Editor. Cara Nesi joins Hachette Book Group as Children’s Field and Educational Sales Manager; most recently she was Telemarketing Account Manager, Indie and Education Specialist at Simon & Schuster.

In agency news…Kari Sutherland, formerly Agent at Bradford Literary Agency, joins KT Literary Agency as Agent. Roseanne Wells joins Lucinda Literary as Agent; she was Literary Agent at the Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency. At Copps Literary Services, Maeve MacLysaght, formerly Literary Agent with Ladderbird Literary Agency, joins as Agent. Quressa Robinson joins Folio Literary Management as Literary Agent, having previously worked as Literary Agent at Nelson Literary Agency. At United Talent Agency, Kristina Moore joins as Agent; she was formerly Media Rights Manager at Anonymous Content. Additionally, Garrett McGrath, formerly Editor at Abrams, has launched Null Books, an agency focused on nonfiction with expertise in illustrated titles.

At Macmillan, Tracy Eisele joins as Senior Administrator, Procurement; she worked previously as Consultant Procurement Project Manager at Univision. Morgan Mitchell joins as Associate Production Editor. Frances Sayers joins as Senior Production Editor. Ethan Tolpin joins as Manager, Environmental Sustainability. At St. Martin’s Publishing Group, Sophia Lauriello joins as Publicist; she was previously Associate Publicist at Harper Wave.

Brann Garvey joins Workman Children’s as Senior Designer. He was most recently Senior Graphic Designer at Capstone Publishers. Megan Logan joins as Editor. Previously she was Assistant Editor at Disney/Marvel Press. Daniella Graner has also joined the company as Designer.

At Bloomsbury, Chantal Ezoua joins as Sales Manager, Trade. Previously she was Account Manager at the American Physical Society.

Linette Kim joins Astra Books for Young Readers as Senior Marketing Manager; she was previously Marketing Manager at HarperCollins.

Audrey Barsella joins Sourcebooks as Communications Marketing Manager. Rebecca Atkinson joins as Senior Marketing and Publicity Associate Additionally, Laura Boren joins as Production Designer II and Emily Proano, formerly Distribution Manager at RosettaBooks, joins as Production Editor.

At Candlewick, Mary Beth Garhart joins as Editorial Services Coordinator, beginning January 24. Previously she was Assistant Managing Editor at Page Street Publishing.

Erin Wicks joins Zando Projects as Senior Editor on February 1. Previously she was Editor at HarperCollins.

At Barefoot Books, Autumn Allen joins as Senior Editor.

Randall Lotowycz joins Running Press as Editor. Previously he was Director of Marketing and Sales for Algonquin Books and Algonquin Young Readers.

At the Association of American Publishers, Nadia Mathis joins as Analyst.

Juliana Barbassa succeeds Andrew LaVallee as Deputy Editor for News and Features on the New York Times Books desk. She previously led coverage of Latin America for the International desk.

 
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Top 5 Publishing Articles/Blog Posts of the Week 1/10-1/14

­Red Number 5Every week, we recommend 5 publishing articles/blog posts that supplement the major news for the week. Whether data or industry commentary, we hope these 5 links will be a simple way to keep you in the know.

Are libraries essential services?

Which areas of scholarly publishing are the most and least diverse?

Why are book-lovers buying more but reading less?

How has pandemic-era online shopping shaped sales?

Can slavery be accurately depicted in children’s books?

Top 5 Publishing Articles/Blog Posts of the Week 1/3-1/7

­Red Number 5Every week, we recommend 5 publishing articles/blog posts that supplement the major news for the week. Whether data or industry commentary, we hope these 5 links will be a simple way to keep you in the know.

Why is this moment different for Native writers?

Are any school book bans student-led?

Who are new media companies for?

Can independent publishing meaningfully counter the Big Five?

If remote work is here to stay, how might America change?

International Bestsellers, December 2021

Every month, Publishing Trends runs fiction international bestsellers lists from four territories–France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. This month, our four regular territories are joined by two more: Israel and Russia. Those books that have been published in English are listed with their official English-language title. All others are translated as literally as possible from the original. Where applicable, the US publisher is listed after the local publisher, separated by a “/”. The lists are taken from major newspapers or national retailers, which are noted at the bottom of each list.

Download the full list as a PDF here.

Top 5 Publishing Predictions Posts for 2022

number_5_redEvery week, we recommend 5 publishing articles/blog posts that supplement the major news for the week. As we enter the new year, we are instead posting 5 links to articles with predictions for the publishing industry in 2022. 

Nieman Lab considers the future of journalism.

99designs imagines next year’s book covers.

Penny Sansevieri predicts where book marketing is headed.

Written Word forecasts the outlook for indie authors.

Kristin Nelson reminds us that change is the only constant.

Top 5 Publishing Articles/Blog Posts of the Week 12/20-12/24

­Red Number 5Every week, we recommend 5 publishing articles/blog posts that supplement the major news for the week. Whether data or industry commentary, we hope these 5 links will be a simple way to keep you in the know.

Are smart speakers still the future of media?

As the internet consolidates under Amazon Web Services, how do we cope with outages?

Can AI help scientific journals spot duplicated images?

Why are graphic novels challenged more frequently?

What are librarians doing to respond to book bans?