Former host of the recently-cancelled The Nightly Show (and author of I’d Rather We Got Casinos: And Other Black Thoughts) Larry Wilmore will host the National Book Awards ceremony on November 16. NBF executive director Lisa Lucas says in the announcement, “Larry Wilmore, who is hilarious, intellectual and well-loved by so many, is the perfect choice to host the awards, remind us of the cultural value of books and writers, and to welcome in new audiences.”
At Gallery Books, Meagan Harris has been promoted to publicity manager.
Wade Lucas has been promoted to senior agent director, Penguin Random House Speakers Bureau, where he is the Crown Publishing Group’s divisional representative. Ellen Folan has been promoted to associate director of publicity, Crown Archetype.
Jessica Wells was promoted to director, customer operations, Penguin Random House, in New York. She succeeds Chris Demyanovich, who advances to a Bertelsmann position, based in Maryland.
Caroline Ziegler has joined Open Road as director, business development, reporting to Matthew Shatz (she was director, business development, at Yodle). Also at Open Road, Sarah Janet has been promoted to senior digital marketing manager.
Kelly Rudolph has been promoted to senior director of publicity at William Morrow, and Anwesha Basu moves up to associate director.
Christian Trimmer will take over as editorial director of Holt Children’s on November 7 as part of a reorganization of the unit, reporting to Jean Feiwel, moving over from Simon & Schuster Children’s. Laura Godwin will start a Godwin Books imprint, also reporting to Feiwel. Editors Sally Doherty and Lauren Bisom are leaving the company.
Former managing director and publisher of Orion Children’s Fiona Kennedy will join Head of Zeus in February 2017 to run their new children’s imprint Zephyr.
Operations and commercial director of Harlequin for Australia and New Zealand Cristina Lee will leave the company at the end of this month, as Harlequin is integrated into Harper’s operations.
Art Sesselberg, 53, national accounts manager in Simon & Schuster’s special markets group, passed away on Saturday due to complications arising from pneumonia.
Awards
The 2016 Dayton Literary Peace Prizes have been awarded to Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer-winning The Sympathizer for fiction, and Susan Southard’s Nagasaki for nonfiction.
Bookstore News
Afters years of struggles, Modern Times Bookstore in San Francisco will close on November 15.
Honolulu’s Revolution Books will close October 20, after 40 years in business, but hopes to operate in occasional pop-up locations and online.
In Pittsburgh, after buying East End Book Exchange on June 1, Jill Yeomans and Adlai Yeomans will officially relaunch as White Whale Bookstore on October 14.