Executive chairman of Australia and New Zealand bookstore giant RedGroup Retail (comprising Angus & Robertson; Borders ANZ; and Whitcoulls) Rod Walker is leaving his job. He took over after the Borders acquisition.
The company says they have obtained the waiver from their loan covenants that they were seeking in the wake of reduced EBITDA of $25 million for the current fiscal year. Owners Pacific Equity Partners indicate they are “exploring a range of options to strengthen its balance sheet longer term.”
TVNZ
Timber Press has hired Andrew Beckman as their new editorial director, starting September. He was formerly the editorial director of gardening and vp for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, where he oversaw gardening content throughout the company. He is also a cohost on the Sirius Satellite Radio show Homegrown.
Sourcebooks has hired Leah Hultenschmidt as senior editor in their New York office, acquiring romance and YA projects for their Casablanca and Fire imprints. She was editorial director at Dorchester.
Turmoil continues at the Virginia Quarterly Review in the wake of managing editor Kevin Morrissey’s suicide and an investigation of accusations of bullying by the editor. The winter issue has been cancelled and the journal has “closed its offices,” the NYT reports. University of Virginia spokesperson Carol Wood says, “The staff has been through a lot, and they needed to step away and take some time. We thought it might be best for all involved on the staff to take a break and step back and wait for the conclusion of the internal review.”