Nielsen BookScan general manager Jim King, who has been with the US version of the data service since it started in 2000, is leaving the company later this month to pursue new opportunities. President of Nielsen Book Jonathan Nowell says, “Jim has been an outstanding colleague and I have really appreciated his efforts over the past ten years. He has done a great job with BookScan and worked tirelessly on behalf of his clients to help improve the efficiency of the US book business.” An announcement on succession will be made later.
James Peltz and Donna Dixon have been named co-directors of SUNY Press, charged with expanding electronic and digital publishing, “as well as the refinement of publishing initiatives including traditional scholarly focus areas.”
Peltz has been with the press since 1996, for the last two years managing the Excelsior Editions imprint. Dixon has been director of member programs at Nylink, which serves New York’s libraries.
Edward Knappman and Elizabeth Frost-Knappman’s New England Publishing Associates has merged with Roger Williams’s Publish or Perish Agency, with Williams serving as both owner and managing director. The Knappmans will continue as agents emeriti. They say in a release, “we are pleased that we have been able to develop a transition plan that will be beneficial to both parties, our current publishing partners, and most especially, our clients.” NEPA represents approximately 150 authors and more than 500 titles.
Blogger Carolyn Kellogg has joined the LA Times books department as a staff writer “devoted to covering news, reviews and more in the world of books.” She has written for their books blog Jacket Copy since early 2008.
Separately, the LA Times ran a long feature on Open Sky as it comes out of beta, focusing on former agent Mary Ann Naples, who joined the company in February as vp of development.
LAT