Sara Nelson will join HarperCollins in the new role of vp, executive editor and special advisor to the publisher on July 18. She will acquire titles and “work closely with publisher Jonathan Burnham, as a strategic advisor.” Nelson has been the editorial director for Books and Kindle at Amazon since 2012. Nelson says in the announcement, “After observing the publishing world from the near-outside for many years, I am excited to have this opportunity to be involved directly in the publishing process itself. I can’t wait to join my many friends at Harper, and to work closely with them on books that we love.”
Marcia Markland has moved over to St. Martin’s as executive editor from Thomas Dunne Books, while Emily Angell moves over as editor.
Tara Gonzalez has been promoted to associate agent at the Erin Murphy Literary Agency, while continuing her current role as social media coordinator and assistant to Erin Murphy.
At Penguin Random House, Brent Gordon has been named vp, education sales & strategy, a newly created position in the Penguin Random House sales group. He previously was at McGraw Hill and Wiley in senior executive roles. In addition, Emily Hughes has been promoted to manager, content development and social media.
For the record, author Cormac McCarthy is alive and well. A fake Twitter account (@AKnopfNews) posted the hoax, which unfortunately gained credibility as the actual @USAToday account posted the incorrect information as if it was their own reporting (rather than retweeting the hoax source). There are many lessons to be learned here…. Actual Knopf News is posted via @AAKnopf.