At Random House Children’s, Stephanie McKinley has been promoted to senior digital developer; Kelly Mcgauley is now senior marketing manager, trade marketing; Mallory Matney moves up to associate manager, marketing operations and consumer show; and Alissa Nigro has been promoted to marketing associate, trade marketing.
At Chronicle Books, Taylor Norman has been promoted to editor for children’s. Jamie Real has joined as assistant managing editor for children’s (she was managing director for Litquake); Sandy Frank has joined as junior designer.
Daniel O’Brien has joined the American Booksellers Association staff as a member relationship manager, serving the SIBA, SCIBA, NCIBA, PNBA, and MPIBA regions. He takes over from Nathan Halter, who left the organization in July.
R. Todd Smith has joined VitalSource as manager of campus store partnerships. A longtime bookseller, he was director of campus store services at Clayton State University, and served on the board of the National Association of College Stores.
Cecile B Literary Agency will handle the translation rights for the recently-formed Bankoff Collaborative.
Obituaries
Founder of Hay House, Louise Hay, 90, died on Wednesday of natural causes. The company says, “Louise was an incredible visionary and advocate. Everyone who had the privilege to meet her, either in person or through her words, felt her passion for serving others.” They report that over 50 million copies of her book You Can Heal Your Life have been sold worldwide. Her estate, including future royalties, will be donated to The Hay Foundation, which supports diverse organizations supplying food, shelter, counseling, hospice care, and funds to those in need.
Susan Vreeland, 71, author of novels including Girl in Hyacinth Blue, died on Monday.
“Bestsellers”
USA Today is standing on listing Lani Sarem’s Handbook for Mortals as a “bestseller,” though the title drops to No. 113 on their list this week, after debuting at No. 34 there a week ago.
Finance
Barnes & Noble Education closed Wednesday’s trading down 18 percent for the day, dropping $1.23 a share, following a larger than expected loss. The stock continued its slide, declining another 5 percent, in early Thursday trading.