Canongate publisher Jenny Todd is leaving, after 12 years at the company. Jamie Byng says, “We couldn’t have taken the company as far as we have without Jenny’s considerable talent and unstinting commitment to growing Canongate and enabling our diverse list of writers to flourish. We all wish her well in her future endeavours and know that she will bring the same flair and creative energy wherever she goes next.”
At DK North America, Mary Marotta joined as vice president of sales, marketing and publicity. Most recently, she was deputy publisher for Simon & Schuster Children’s. Brandi Larsen joined as vice president of publishing, reporting jointly to coo Shaun Hodgkinson and global publisher Alex Allan, working to “maximize DK’s presence in North America.” Previously, she was digital publishing director for Penguin Random House.
Gabrielle Guarnero has been promoted to marketing manager for Amazon Publishing.
Phil Sexton has been named vice president and publisher of Media Lab Books. Previously, he was vice president and publisher of Writer’s Digest.
Akira McKinzie joined the ABA as social media coordinator, working part time, succeeding Catherine Cusick who left in April.
Denys Johnson-Davies, 94, died in Cairo in May. Best known as the translator of Naguib Mahfouz into English, “he was a one-man cottage industry, translating more than 30 Arabic novels, short-story collections and anthologies.”
Bookselling
Bookies in Chicago had a soft opening in its new space on July 1, despite being unfinished. In a Facebook post, owners urged customers to come enjoy the store as they complete it and to “just consider it a work in progress.”