Grand Central publisher Jamie Raab has been promoted to president (from executive vice president). CEO David Young wrote to staff: “In Jamie’s two and a half decades with the company, she and her team have created a diverse publishing program that spans just about every genre – commercial fiction and literary novels, celebrity bios and serious politics, business, romance, humor, and lifestyle – putting real muscle behind the campaigns and making GCP a fixture on bestseller lists.” He added, “Jamie is a brave and brilliant publisher, a trusted leader in the company, and an impassioned champion of authors. Here superb instincts and her tenacity are widely known in our industry, and she is a true force in the world of publishing.”
Egmont USA has hired literary agent Andrea Cascardi from the Transatlantic Literary Agency for the new combined role of managing director and publisher, effective immediately. (Prior to joining TLA, she was associate publishing director at Random House Children’s for the Knopf and Crown imprints.) Current publisher Elizabeth Law is leaving after five years with the company.
Egmont Press managing director Cally Poplak, who oversees the US business from London, said in a statement: “I’m delighted that Andrea is joining us to take on this new combined role. She has the strategic vision, business experience and creative background to accelerate Egmont’s growth in the US, and I’m very much looking forward to working with her to build on our first few years.”
At Harper, Maya Ziv has been promoted to editor.
PEN American Center has named Suzanne Nossel as executive director, succeeding Steven Isenberg, who left at the end of 2012 after three and a half years. Nossel was most recently executive director of Amnesty International USA.
Skyhorse will launch Gary Null Publishing, a health and wellness imprint from author and nutrition advocate Gary Null, with four titles in Fall 2013 and an additional eight titles over the following two years. “I am delighted to join forces with the dynamic team of professionals at Skyhorse and look forward to working together to publish an exciting set of new titles covering several health and wellness topics that are more relevant today than ever,” Null said in a statement, with Skyhorse publisher Tony Lyons adding: “Skyhorse is thrilled to be working with Gary. He has a proven track records of success, and his sometimes maverick viewpoints fit in well with Skyhorse’s desire to publish on a wide range of subjects that mainstream publishers sometimes ignore.”
Bloomsbury issued a nonspecific interim trading update for the last four months of 2012, stating that group operating profits “were up year on year” because of “lower relative costs of production in the new digital environment and a lower returns rate as the proportion of online sales increased” even though sales dropped 2 percent during the period. eBook sales increased 58 percent (“particularly in the UK”) compared to the same time frame a year ago. Bloomsbury ceo Nigel Newton stated: “We are making good progress on many fronts during the transition of the market towards more digital sales. eBook sales are showing strong momentum and we are greatly encouraged by the potential of our online Knowledge Hubs where we have some large deals in progress.”
The Mystery Writers of America announced the 2013 Edgar Award nominees, with a record seven finalists for Best Novel. Among the finalists:
Best Novel
The Lost Ones by Ace Atkins (Putnam)
The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye (Amy Einhorn Books)
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (Crown)
Potboiler by Jesse Kellerman (Putnam)
Sunset by Al Lamanda (Five Star)
Live by Night by Dennis Lehane (William Morrow)
All I Did Was Shoot My Man by Walter Mosley (Riverhead)
Best First Novel By An American Author
The Map of Lost Memories by Kim Fay (Ballantine)
Don’t Ever Get Old by Daniel Friedman (Minotaur Books)
Mr. Churchill’s Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal (Bantam)
The Expats by Chris Pavone (Crown)
The 500 by Matthew Quirk (Little, Brown and Company)
Black Fridays by Michael Sears (Putnam)
The Jewish Book Award winners were announced Tuesday, among them THE INNOCENTS by Francesca Segal (Fiction); JEWISH JOCKS by Franklin Foer and Marc Tracy (Anthology/Collection); and Eric Kandel (Lifetime Achievement).