Random House’s legal department has promoted Kathy Trager to evp, general counsel, while Matthew Martin and Anke Steinecke have been named svp, associate general counsel, respectively.
Former London Book Fair Director Alistair Burtenshaw has launched his own publishing industry consultancy and project management business, Publishing Connections Ltd.
Melissa Sarver has joined Folio Literary Management as the co-director of international rights and will continue to represent authors in the areas of Young Adult, select literary and upmarket adult fiction, narrative non-fiction, business books and cookbooks. She was previously at The Elizabeth Kaplan Literary Agency.
At Little, Brown, Heather Fain has been promoted to associate publisher, in addition to her ongoing duties as marketing director. In addition, Sabrina Callahan moves up to director of publicity for James Patterson; Theresa Giacopasi has been promoted to online publicity manager; and Alexis Gilbert moves up to coordinator, James Patterson.
Cengage Learning hired Kevin Stone as evp and chief sales and marketing officer, based in Boston, MA, and reporting to CEO Michael Hansen. He has been chief sales officer of Pearson’s higher education unit since 2011.
The German Book Office has named Kurt Beals as the first winner of their translation competition. A PhD candidate in German Literature and Culture at the University of California, Berkeley, he will receive a commission to translate the first fifteen pages of a novel by Nora Bossong.
Lerner Publisher Services will distribute MVP Books, an imprint of Scobre International, in the US and Canada effective spring 2013.