Radhika Jones has joined the New York Times as editorial director, books, reporting to Pamela Paul. Previously Jones was at Time Magazine, the last three years as deputy managing editor. In her new role, Jones will oversee all review coverage in The Times, both from The Times’s staff critics, and in the pages of the NYTBR. She will also be working on features, news and overall digital strategy in conjunction with Paul, who said in the announcement: “I’ve admired Radhika Jones for years for her intelligence, literary acumen, keen news sensibility and entrepreneurial approach to journalism. She is not only a highly skilled editor and writer — she is a true book person. I could not be more thrilled that she will be bringing her immense talents to The Times.”
Sienna Farris has joined Simon & Schuster as vp, director of digital marketing, responsible for the company’s social media and digital platform strategies including audits, benchmarking metrics, content strategies, training, and best practices. Previously Farris was global executive director of corporate social marketing at Estee Lauder.
Janine Webb has joined Highlights Press and Boyds Mills Press as director, specialty and gift sales for retail. Previously she held sales positions at HarperCollins, IDG Books, Simon & Schuster, and Quarto. In addition, Monica Jankauskas has joined Highlights Press as retail marketing manager, a newly created position.
Natalie Babbitt, 84, author of Tuck Everlasting and writer and illustrator of many novels for children, died at her home in Hamden, CT of lung cancer.
Karsten Dietrich, 72, died last week in Paris. He was head of book club France Loisirs from 1973 until his retirement in 2009.
Subscriptions
Scribd is adding current and archived issues from 10 magazines — including Time, Fortune, Bloomberg Businessweek, and New York — to its subscription reading service. In addition, Scribd will group all of its content by interest, regardless of format.
Separately, Playster has added comics and graphic novels from IDW to their subscription entertainment service.