The Authors Guild has hired Mary Rasenberger to succeed Paul Aiken as executive director, on November 3. Currently a partner at the media law firm Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams and Sheppard, she recently was director of the Library of Congress’s National Digital Preservation Program from 2006 to 2008 and prior to that spend 4 years at the Copyright Office as policy planning advisor and then senior advisor for public policy. Aiken, who announced a year ago that he has ALS, will work for the Guild as a consultant for the next two years.
Guild president Roxana Robinson says in the announcement: “Mary brings with her exactly what the Guild needs today. She’s a proven leader, a brilliant copyright lawyer and–especially important to us–a devotee of the written word.” Rasenberg comments: “This is a dream job. I’ve focused most of my career on authors’ rights, and I’ve long admired the Guild’s spirit and advocacy. I’m thrilled to contribute what I can to the Guild’s noble mission and help ensure that writing remains a viable profession.” She added, “I know from observing Paul’s work how keenly his energy and intelligence will be missed, by Guild members and by all authors.”
At Tarcher, Andrew Yackira has been promoted to editor.
Pippa White has resigned her position at Grand Central and is available for freelance editorial work. She can be reached at pippa.editor@gmail.com.
Simon & Schuster’s forthcoming science fiction & fantasy imprint Saga Press announced they will sell all of their ebooks without DRM when they launch in Spring 2015. Executive editor Joe Monti says: “The science fiction and fantasy community were early adopters of electronic formats, and have enthusiastically embraced DRM-free content while showing great respect for authors’ works under copyright. In launching our imprint, we are pleased to offer this convenience to our readers and test the waters of DRM-free publishing.”
Abrams says that with the November 4 release of the ninth Wimpy Kid book from Jeff Kinney, THE LONG HAUL, the series will surpass 150 million copies in print worldwide. The US first printing is 5.5 million copies.