After joining Open Road last September as president, overseeing day-to-day operations, Paul Slavin has been made ceo of the company. He will continue to lead the initiative to move the company beyond ebooks (as the market has stagnated), with an “expanding focus on engaging and connecting with consumers while creating multiple new revenue streams through media and e-commerce.” The company has raised approximately $29 million in equity and debt financing, but has not generated a profit yet. Co-founder Jane Friedman will become chairman of the board and will also serve as executive publisher, continue “to help support the company’s efforts to acquire the best available […]
Archives for May 2016
People
Simon & Schuster Audio announced a number of recent promotions. Desiree Vecchio has been promoted to the position of editor; Christina Zarafonitis moves up to senior producer; Louisa Solomon has been promoted to managing producer & casting director; and Michael Noble moves up to senior associate producer. In the UK, Peter Owen — founder of the publisher that carries his name — died at 89 on Tuesday after a short illness. Owen had moved up to chairman of the company last summer; his daughter Antonia Owen will now move take over as publisher. An AP story credits Peter Costanzo — currently digital and […]
People
Luke Dempsey will join Harper as executive editor on June 20. Most recently he was executive editor at HarperOne. Simon & Schuster Children’s has announced a number of recent promotions. Deane Norton has been promoted to director of subsidiary rights; Chrissy Noh moves up to marketing director for S&S Young Readers, Atheneum, Margaret. K. McElderry, Paula Wiseman, Beach Lane and Saga Press. Faye Bi has been promoted to senior publicist, while Isa Caban moves up to marketing coordinator. At Harper Christian, Jerri Helms has been promoted to senior director, digital marketing strategy. In the UK, Rachel Mills is leaving PFD (for […]
People, Etc.
Maggie Searcy has been promoted to associate art director, ad promo design at HarperCollins Children’s. Affirm Press will work with Linda Kaplan at Kaplan/Defiore Rights to sell rights to select titles throughout the world, including North America. An editing error misreported Nisha Panchal-Terhune‘s promotion at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. She is now associate director, creative services. Distribution Lorimer Children & Teens will work with Lerner Publisher Services as their US distributor to the trade and school and public library markets, beginning August 2016. Awards Flora Fraser has won the George Washington Prize for The Washingtons: George and Martha (Knopf)
Burgess Lea Moves to Quarto
Running Press co-founder Buz Teacher his wife Janet Bukovinsky Teacher have sold the assets of their year-old cooking publisher Burgess Lea Press to Quarto Publishing Group USA. The Teachers will “continue to work with the imprint,” though editorial and production operations will be run out of Quarto’s Minneapolis, MN, office. The Burgess Lea site lists 5 titles in print; it has operated as an affiliate imprint of Running Press (which is now owned by Hachette Book Group as part of the Perseus Books Group acquisition). Quarto has promised to sustain Burgess Lea’s model of donating all after-tax publishing profits to charitable organizations good works that address hunger […]
Bookselling: Indigo’s New Concept Store, Half-Price for Georgia
On Friday dominant Canadian bookselling chain Indigo will hold a grand opening for their new concept store in Toronto’s Sherway Gardens, the chain’s first new store in over 5 years and a model for ambitious renovation plans that “will be rolled out over time to the company’s 90 other book superstores,” ceo Heather Reisman told the Financial Post. The press release describes it as a “cultural department store for booklovers and their friends,” with “a cross-section of shops-within-a-shop filled with an unparalleled selection of books and beautiful, affordable lifestyle products, all merchandized to inspire and delight.” Books comprise about 60 […]