Devin Kirk will join Macmillan on April 14 as vp, international sales and marketing, succeeding Judy Sisko, who is retiring next month after more than 46 years in publishing and 22 years at Macmillan. Kirk was previously senior director, international sales for Penguin Random House.
At Penguin Random House, Kim Shannon has been appointed to newly created position of vp, director, adult retail sales, Random House. Adult retail sales at Penguin continue to be overseen by John Lawton and Norman Lidofsky.
At Sterling Lord Literistic, Caitlin McDonald and Mary Krienke have been promoted to associate agents, while Nadyne Pike moves up to managing director.
Melia Publishing Services Ltd. has taken over sales and distribution of Kids Can Press in the UK and Ireland.
Amy Poehler will be the honorary chairperson for World Book Night throughout next month. She said in the announcement: “I grew up loving books. In today’s digital world, it’s more important than ever to know how it feels to have a good book in your hands. I’m thrilled to be part of World Book Night. People who read are people who dream, and we connect through the stories we live and tell and read.”
BEA’s consumer-oriented day of programming BookCon announced additional programming details for the May 31 show. It will be overseen by ReedPOP, Reed Exhibitions’ pop culture arm, which produces New York Comic-Con and other events (and whose global svp Lance Festerman used to be in charge of BEA.) The headline event will feature a panel with Martin Short & Amy Poehler, with John Grisham and Stan Lee headlining separate events.
Patricia Rossoff, 64, died Tuesday morning in an auto accident in West Hartford, CT. She was the author of INNOCENT EYE: A Passionate Look at Contemporary Art, published by Tupelo Press, whose president and editor-in-chief Jeffrey Levine had just participated in a panel with Rossoff at the Virginia Festival of the Book. He said in an emailed statement: “she was effervescent, funny, and passionate, holding court on the world of art to the delight of our small company…. It’s impossible to believe that we were just there. Shocking to think that she’s no longer here.”