Lia Ronnen has been promoted to publisher at Artisan, effective September 2. She succeeds Ann Bramson, who will now acquire books across Workman’s imprints with the new title of executive director, special projects at Workman. Of Ronnen’s appointment, Bramson said in the announcement: “Lia is an amalgam of everything one could want in a publisher: editorial vision, graphic sensibility, and sales and marketing savvy. I have an extraordinary successor in place and can now explore some unorthodox concepts and formats that I have been eager to develop for a long time.”
Tricia Boczkowski has been named vp, editorial director of Crown Archetype and Three Rivers Press, reporting to Molly Stern. Previously she was an editor-at-large for Gallery Books, where she worked for the past 13 years. Her first day is September 2, and Suzanne O’Neill, Dominick Anfuso, Kevin Doughten, Amanda Patten, and Matt Inman will all report to Boczkowski.
Stern said in the announcement: “Trish’s long and varied experience editing and successfully publishing within the categories of pop culture, humor, sports and celebrity memoir, as well as her managerial experience, make her an ideal candidate to lead and shape the editorial vision for Archetype and TRP. I am thrilled to partner with Trish and the entire Archetype/TRP team to substantially expand and build on the many successes of the list and its incredible roster of authors.
Jonathan Jao will join Harper on September 8 as vp, executive editor, reporting to Jonathan Burnham. Previously he was a senior editor at Random House.
At Storey Publishing, Carolyn Eckert has been promoted to design manager and Michaela Jebb has been named book designer, moving over from the marketing department. In xales, Trade and Gift sales manager Adrienne Franceschi‘s role will expand to include management of ebook sales for both Storey Publishing and Timber Press. Finally, managing editor and director of contracts Jennifer Travis will take on the additional responsibility of supervising project editors.
Donalyn Miller has joined Scholastic in the newly created role of manager, Independent Reading and Outreach for Scholastic Book Fairs, reporting to Anne Lee. In her role, Miller will serve as the national ambassador for independent reading, speaking at employee and parent trainings, book fair chairpersons’ workshops and professional learning seminars for educators to raise awareness of the importance of independent reading for all children. Miller, based in Dallas, TX, is an author and former elementary school teacher who was named the 2012 Elementary Teacher of the Year by the Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts.
At Penguin Random House Publisher Services, Dallas Middaugh has been promoted to senior director, publisher services.
Molly O’Laughlin has joined Franklin & Siegal Associates as a scout. Previously she was subsidiary rights manager at The Overlook Press. In addition, the company has been named literary scout for children’s and YA for Aschehoug in Norway, and adult scout for the Alexandra Group (Alexandra, Europa, Cartaphilus) in Hungary.
The 16-title longlist for the FT-McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award includes Thomas Piketty’s CAPITAL IN THE 21st CENTURY, Michael Lewis’ FLASH BOYS, and Walter Isaacson’s upcoming THE INNOVATORS. The shortlist will be announced on September 24, with the winner named November 11.
James Thompson, 49, author of the Inspector Kari Vaara novels, died August 2 in Finland, where he had resided since 1998. The series began with the Edgar-nominated SNOW ANGELS (2010) with three novels subsequently published. The next Vaara novel, HELSINKI DEAD, was slated for publication in 2015, but will not go forward as the manuscript was incomplete. Thompson is also the editor of the anthology HELSINKI NOIR, forthcoming from Akashic Books in November.