Jacqui Small will step down as group publisher for her eponymous imprint at Quarto at the end of 2017, after which she will work part-time as publisher at large. The imprint has been part of Quarto since 2004, following their acquisition of Aurum Press. Chief executive of Quarto Marcus Leaver, chief executive of Quarto says: “Jacqui’s career is an extraordinary achievement. She has created a unique style through her ability to spot emerging lifestyle trends and her passion for publishing excellence. All of us at Quarto feel incredibly lucky to have had her as a colleague, mentor and friend. Her legacy will live on as we work together on the best transition for her list going forward.”
Melanie Tortoroli will return to Norton on September 11 as a senior editor. Most recently she was senior content acquisitions editor for Amazon’s Kindle Singles.
Imprints
Scribner Australia will launch in 2018, with Kristina Olson’s novel Shell as their first title.
Obituaries
Poet John Ashbery, 90, “whose teasing, delicate, soulful lines made him one of the most influential figures of late-20th and early-21st-century American literature,” died on Sunday. In 1976, his collection Self-Portrait won the Pulitzer, the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award.
Longtime books writer for the NY Daily News Sherryl Connelly, 65, died, “due to an apparent heart condition.” She first joined the paper to write about books in 1980.
Distribution
UK publisher Myriad Editions merged with New Internationalist and will be distributed by Consortium in the US.