Marjorie Braman is leaving Henry Holt, where she has been vp and editor-in-chief since September 2008. Prior to that she was executive editor at HarperCollins for 12 years. She is leaving on to concentrate on freelance editorial projects, and her last day is January 31. Holt will name a new editor-in-chief at a later date.
Christine Pride has joined Hyperion as senior editor. Previously she was an editor with the Crown Publishing Group.
At Norton, Brendan Curry and Tom Mayer have been promoted to senior editors.
Christina Ward of the Christina Ward Literary Agency and Richard Balkin of The Balkin Agency have merged, to form The Ward & Balkin Agency.
Adrienne Lombardo has been promoted to audio rights agent at Trident Media Group. She was formerly the assistant for Ellen Levine and Don Fehr.
In the Harper Children’s publicity department, Allison Verost joins the unit as
assistant director of publicity. She has been at Penguin Children’s for almost 8 years.
Penguin has launched a new in-house TV and Radio Satellite Media Tours Department, which will be headed up by Kristin llardi. Previously she was Assistant Manager of Corporate Communications for the company. Stephany Perez also joins the new department as Associate Director; previously she was an associate in the Corporate Communications Department.
Aitken Alexander Associates will open an office in Delhi, India, on January 17, with Shruti Debi as senior agent. Debi worked for seven years at Picador Indiaand will also be a director of Aitken Alexander Associates India Pvt Ltd., along with Gillon Aitken, Clare Alexander and Andrew Kidd. She will sign new clients as well as “provide local support for Aitken Alexander’s existing roster of outstanding subcontinental writers.”
Random UK is renaming its CCV division, changing it to Vintage Publishing. MD Richard Cable says in a statement, “The decision to rename ourselves Vintage Publishing is but another stage in a long line of evolution within the company…. We recognize that the name Vintage is now a key defining brand in our publishing lives, as it is for our readers, and perfectly reflects our commitment to publishing of the highest quality.”
Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing and Brilliance Audio are partnering for a new imprint, Chicken Soup for the Soul on Brilliance Audio. Nine audio titles have already been released with three more published today.
Release
In Germany, Silvia Kuttny-Walser, a 21-year veteran of Random House Germany and publishing director of Blanvalet announced yesterday she is resigning to move to Luebbe Verlag as publishing director.
Novelist, art critic and Jackson Pollock biographer B.H. Friedman died last Tuesday in Manhattan at the age of 84.
NYT Obit
Literary agent Manie Barron of the Menza-Barron Agency passed away on Saturday. His three-decade career in publishing included stints at Random House, as part of the founding team of imprint Striver’s Row, HarperCollins, as publishing manager of Amistad Books, and with William Morris. Friends and family will hold a memorial celebration for Barron in
February, but details will be released later. In addition, the family
has established a college scholarship fund for Manie’s daughter,
Veronica.
Obit
As part of an agreement extension with APA Publications, Ingram Publishing Services will now distribute Langenscheidt Dictionaries and Phrasebooks effective March 1.
Getty Publications will be distributed in Canada by the Chicago Distribution Center, also starting March 1.