Ballantine Bantam Dell announced a realignment of its nonfiction publishing as well as new executive hires and promotions overseeing the department, similar to the division’s recent reorganization of its fiction publishing. Jennifer Tung will join BDD on September 17 in the new role of vp, editorial director, nonfiction, reporting to Libby McGuire. Tung was most recently deputy editor of RedBook, and she will work across all formats and acquire and edit narrative, prescriptive, and brand-focused nonfiction. Executive editors Pamela Cannon and Mamie Cochran will now report to Tung.
In addition, Richard Callison will be promoted to associate publisher, nonfiction, also reporting to McGuire, who singled out his work in the digital sales group where “he has focused on customer behavior, analyzing customer needs, and providing the appropriate merchandising to connect with readers. His expertise in understanding book-purchasing habits and interpreting marketplace analytics-and how they might positively impact a wide range of our planning and decisions-make him a welcome and timely addition to our publishing effort.”
Director of books and publishing at Reed Exhibitions and longtime London Book Fair director Alistair Burtenshaw is leaving, effective immediately “to pursue opportunities in the wider creative industries,” according to a letter sent to the LBF advisory board by Reed Exhibitions B2B divisional managing director Justin Tadman. “Alistair has led the fair very successfully through challenging times and has ensured that it continually reflects and showcases developments across the publishing sector,” Tadman said in the letter. “I would like to take this opportunity of thanking Alistair very sincerely for the contribution he has made to Reed Exhibitions during his tenure. He leaves The London Book Fair in the hands of a very strong team that he has built over the past few years.”
Burtenshaw added in a statement that it was “a great honor to have been able to lead The London Book Fair through more than a decade of significant growth and development and to have had the opportunity during the last two years to lead the strategic co-ordination and business development activity for Reed Exhibitions’ portfolio of book fairs around the globe.” A successor is expected to be named soon.