Editor-in-chief of Ace and Roc Books Ginjer Buchanan announced that she will retire in March 2014, exactly 30 years after she was hired by the Berkley Publishing Group, now a division of Penguin Random House. Berkley president and publisher Leslie Gelbman notes: “During her thirty years with Ace and Roc, Ginjer was essential in growing our science fiction and fantasy list and launching the careers of several bestselling authors. Her love for the genre and books in general and dedication to her authors is unparalleled, and she’s a key reason Ace/Roc is one of the preeminent science fiction-fantasy publishers.”
Cara Bedick has joined Harlequin as senior editor, Harlequin Nonfiction. Previously she was an editor at The Experiment.
Michael Goldsmith has joined Doubleday as publicist. Previously he was a publicist at Overlook Press.
At Chronicle Books, Allison Weiner has been promoted to senior designer; Anne Kenady moves up to assistant designer; and Meghan Nowell has been promoted to studio coordinator.
In the UK, former Waterstones nonfiction buyer John Lewis is joining The Bookseller as charts and data analyst, taking over from Philip Stone who left to work at Penguin Random House. School librarian and blogger Anna James is joining the magazine in late March, succeeding Stacey Bartlett.
In Canada, Jackie Kaiser has been promoted to president and chief operating officer at Westwood Creative Artists, while Hilary McMahon moves up to executive vice president. Both Kaiser and McMahon are shareholders in the company; Bruce Westwood continues as managing director and CEO and Michael A. Levine remains as chairman.
Consortium will distribute Blue Apple Books, the Maplewood, NJ-based children’s book publisher, as of June 1, 2014.
Former cfo of Doubleday Publishing Walter E. Freese, Jr., 85, died last Friday. He also served as evp of Doubleday Sports. A service is scheduled for 1 PM on Wednesday at the Shelter Island Funeral Parlor in Shelter Island, NY. His survivors include his son Rich Freese, ceo of Recorded Books.
Elizabeth Gilbert‘s novel THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS, one of our 2013 Fall/Winter Buzz Books, is an usual candidate among the nominees for the UK’s Wellcome prize, given to a book “which leads on a medical theme.”
