Sean McDonald has been named publisher of a newly created imprint at Farrar, Straus, MCD/FSG. The imprint’s goal, according to the announcement, is to “create a space to publish work and experiment with publishing styles, forms, and genres that are at the edges of FSG’s traditions and/or are new enough to have no tradition.” McDonald will be joined at MCD/FSG by former Amazon Publishing editor-in-chief and publisher Daphne Durham, named executive editor, working from Seattle.
McDonald says in the announcement, “When Jonathan [Galassi] suggested this—to create what he called a kind of lab in which we could find new ways to grow our business, and to grow the range of how and what FSG publishes—it felt like a dream come true: to get to build a team and try something new, but still work with my colleagues here, who I already know to be scary smart, impassioned, and inspiring. I can’t imagine a better set-up. Galassi adds, “I expect MCD/FSG will bring a fresh spirit and a new kind of creativity to the house.”
While McDonald will retain his roles as vp, director of digital and paperback publishing and publisher of FSG Originals, Emily Bell has been promoted to director of the paperback original imprint and senior editor for FSG.
In other imprint news, Germany’s Bastei Luebbe has acquired Egmont‘s romance imprint Lyx as well as Ink. Egmont Publishing ceo Klaus Thorsten Firnig says in the release: “We have decided to focus our book activities on children’s books, comic books and mangas. This concentration means that it is important that our fiction imprints Lyx and Ink continue to have a strong market positioning and remain attractive for our license providers.”
In the UK, Bonnier has acquired the ailing John Blake Publishing, which had sales last year of £2.2 million. The company will be part of Bonnier’s Kings Road Publishing division, and John Blake will report to that unit’s ceo Perminder Mann.
In the audiobook market, Recorded Books announced last week that it had acquired eChristian Inc., which publishes over 1,400 Christian audiobooks under the christianaudio brand.