Mara Anastas has been promoted to vp, publisher of Aladdin and Simon Pulse, effective April 7. Previously deputy publisher, she succeeds Bethany Buck, who is leaving the company after more than six years as publisher. President of Simon & Schuster Children’s Jon Anderson said in a statement: “The drive and devotion Mara has shown in all her previous roles make her more than ready and entirely suited to take on this new responsibility. We look forward to Mara and the Aladdin Books and Simon Pulse teams building on their current successes.” He added: “Under Bethany, who has led Aladdin Books and Simon Pulse since 2008, these two vital imprints have evolved and grown in both scope and ambition. We thank Bethany for her contributions to our success to date.”
Anastas commented: “Simon Pulse and Aladdin Books have an incredibly talented team of editors, designers and publishing professionals that have made them industry-leading children’s publishing imprints. I could not be more thrilled at the prospect of working with them in this new role, together with the many world-class authors we publish, to develop new and exciting content for both of these well-established imprints.”
As Liberty Media ceo Greg Maffei leaves the board of director of Barnes & Noble, Tulane University president Scott Cowen joins as its newest member. “We could not be more pleased to welcome President Cowen to our board,” said BN chairman Leonard Riggio in the announcement. “He brings a broad range of experience to the board on the educational front as well as substantial experience having served on both public and private company boards.” Cowen also holds joint appointments as the Seymour S. Goodman Memorial Professor of Business in Tulane’s A.B. Freeman School of Business and Professor of Economics in the School of Liberal Arts.
At Little, Brown Children’s, Melanie Chang has been promoted to the new role of vp, integrated marketing, and Allegra Green moves up to marketing operations coordinator.
Hannah Harlow has been promoted to assistant director of marketing at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Pete Beatty is leaving his role as acquisitions director at Open Road to join Cleveland-based Belt Magazine as Editorial Director. He will also continue his freelance developmental editing and writing work. He can be reached at ptbeatty@gmail.com.
Polis Books has expanded its distribution agreement with PGW to the print side, in addition to digital distribution which was handled by Constellation.
Katherine Rundell‘s ROOFTOPPERS has won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize.
Author Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 87, has been hospitalized in Mexico City for an unspecified infection, and related dehydration, Reuters was told. Mexico’s Secretary of Health indicated in a statement that “once he’s completed his course of antibiotics his discharge from the hospital will be evaluated.”