Editorial director of Rizzoli Paolo Zaninoni is leaving after almost ten years at the company. General manager of RCS trade books Massimo Turchetta will replace Zainoni on an interim basis. In addtion, Federica Magro has been named manager of Bur and Vintage paperbacks. Previously she was an editor at Mondadori.
At Simon & Schuster Children’s, Liesa Abrams has been promoted to executive editor and moves from Aladdin to Simon Pulse, though she will continue to edit Aladdin’s Dork Diaries, Unwanteds and Beyonders. In addition, Annette Pollert moves up to editor, while Karen Nagel has been promoted to executive editor at Aladdin.
Also at Simon & Schuster, the company has announced a number of new distribution partnerships for their house-produced author and book videos. Their videos will be carried or distributed by AOL, Blinkx, Taboola, and the Digital BroadcastingGroup, and S&S video chanels will soon be available to view on TV through Roku boxes. S&S says their library of over 3,200 videos now generates over 1 million views a month.
The National Book Foundation will give Elmore Leonard (who turns 87 in a few weeks) their medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, while New York Times chairman and publisher Arthur Sulzberger, Jr. will receive their Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community. Both men will be honored at the National Book Awards on November 14, hosted by television and public radio host Faith Salie. Leonard will be introduced by Martin Amis during the ceremonies. Leonard commented, “I think I’m a good writer. I don’t see any objection to my being on this list.”
When Stephen King accepted the distinguished contribution medal in 2003, he said “I accept this award on behalf of such disparate writers as Elmore Leonard, Peter Straub, Nora Lofts, Jack Ketchum, whose real name is Dallas Mayr, Jodi Picoult, Greg Iles, John Grisham, Dennis Lehane, Michael Connelly, Pete Hamill and a dozen more. I hope that the National Book Award judges, past, present and future, will read these writers and that the books will open their eyes to a whole new realm of American literature.”
The LA Times is apparently searching for a new deputy books editor, according to an internal memo obtained by LA Observed, to work on stories for the paper as well as its Jacket Copy blog. The status of current deputy books editor Nick Owchar is unclear; the section recently hired Joy Press as books and culture editor.