• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Login
  • Register
Publishers Lunch logo Publishers Lunch logo
  • Publishers Marketplace
  • Site Guide
  • Help
Login Sign Up
  • Personnel
  • Earnings
  • New Releases
  • Book Bans
  • The Trial
  • Unions
  • Compensation
  • Archives
Publishers Lunch logo
  • Publishers Marketplace
  • Site Guide
  • Help
  • Publishers Marketplace
  • Site Guide
  • Help

July 31, 2017By Erin Somers

People, Etc.

July 31, 2017By Erin Somers

Barbara Kline Pope will take over as director of the Johns Hopkins University Press this fall. She has been executive director of the National Academies Press since 1997, recently served as president of the Association of American University Presses, and has been on the management board at MIT Press. Previous director Kathleen Keane retired in April.

At Little, Brown, Ned Rust has been promoted to vice president and publisher for James Patterson, responsible for all aspects of the adult and children’s publishing programs. Jenny Bak has been promoted to editorial director for the children’s line, Jimmy Patterson Books.

Stephanie Buschardt has joined Houghton Mifflin Harcourt as publicist. Most recently, she was a contributor for Kirkus.

Mary Ellen Owens has been promoted to senior production manager for Random House Children’s, while Shameiza Ally has been promoted to associate production manager.

Hachette Book Group national accounts manager Hector Martinez died of cancer on July 27 . He held his position for the last four years, and previously worked at Random House, Simon & Schuster, Follett Educational Services, and Santillana USA. Sophie Cottrell, svp of corporate communications for HBG, says: “Hector was a dear friend and valued colleague. His customers and colleagues adored him, and Hector cherished the people who made work so much more than a job. We will all miss Hector’s kindness, good humor, and steadfast friendship.”

Macmillan Learning CEO Ken Michaels will receive the Book Industry Study Group’s Distinguished Service Award at their annual meeting in September. (He had been chair of BISG’s board.)

At Fabled Films Press, Nicole Wheeler has been promoted to brand marketing and sales manager, while Gisselle Guillen joined as publicity and marketing manager. Previously, Guillen was public relations account manager for Rachel Litner Associates.

Distribution
IPG will distribute Quarto’s new Spanish language imprint Quarto Iberoamericana, launching in October, in the US and Canada, and Editorial Gustavo Gili de Mexico will distribute in Mexico.

Funding
After rebrandifying themselves from Lost My Name to Wonderbly, the UK-based custom publisher announced the closing of a Series B funding round of $8.5 million, led by European puzzle and children’s book publisher Ravensburger. Previous investors also participated, and the company has also lined up a venture debt facility from Silicon Valley Bank.

The company has now raised at least $21.5 million in venture capital, which sets a high bar of expectations. According to the most recent Companies House filing, in the year ending April 2016 they had sales of £19.4 million in the fiscal year ending April 2016, with an operating loss of £2.577 million. Wonderbly says they have sold over 2.7 million books worldwide so far. (Even before the latest round of funding, that’s about $4.80 of venture capital per copy.)

 

Filed Under: Free, Personnel

sidebar

Primary Free Sidebar

Login

Forgot Password Quick Pass User Login
Get Full Access
The Publishing Industry’s Essential Daily Read

Each Publishers Lunch Deluxe subscription includes full access to our searchable multi-year archive of industry news, a nightly email reporting 10 to 50 deal transactions, and our database of industry contacts, scripts, and posting privileges.

Learn More

RSS Automat

  • S&S Signs Haberman and Swan Book About "Donald Trump's Final Act in Public Life" November 27, 2023 Axios
  • Barnes & Noble is ending support for older Nook e-readers November 17, 2023 The Verge
  • Publishing Coalition Files Brief with Appeals Court Asking to Uphold Ruling Blocking Texas's "Reader" Book Banning Law November 14, 2023 Filing
  • Entangled Acknowledges "Printing Errors" On Yarros's Just-Released IRON FLAME: "We are committed to making this right" with Exchanges November 11, 2023 Variety
  • Bridgewater Says THE FUND "Is ridiculous and couldn't be any further from the truth" November 8, 2023 Press Release
  • Librarians Fired for Refusing Book Bans Try Filing Discrimination Claims with the EEOC November 8, 2023 AP
  • What 35 Years of Data Can Tell Us About Who Will Win the National Book Award November 7, 2023 Public Books
  • "Silent Book Clubs" Gain In Popularity November 7, 2023 WSJ
  • WH Smith Launches Program to Buyback Used Books for Credit (With A Partner That Will Then Resell the Used Books) November 2, 2023 Company site
  • Abu Dhabi's Mubadala (Which Bid on Simon & Schuster) May Invest Further In Silver Lake's Bid to Take Endeavor Private November 2, 2023 Bloomberg
Publishers Marketplace logo

Contact Us

News

  • Publishers Marketplace
  • Report News
  • Discuss
  • Classifieds
  • Rights Offerings

Deals

  • Report A Deal

Books

  • Buzz Books

Jobs

  • Job Board
  • Privacy Policy Terms of Use