Alex W. Meriwether will be promoted to general manager of the Harvard Book Store as of March 1. He has worked there since 2004, most recently as marketing manager, and takes over from Carole Horne, who has been with the store for 43 years. Horne will continue working on a part-time basis, serving in the buying group and as a senior advisor to management. Co-owner Jeff Mayersohn says in the announcement, “We are thrilled about Alex’s taking the General Manager position at a time when there is a resurgence in independent brick-and-mortar bookselling. He has done an extraordinary job in our marketing group. With Alex in charge and with Rachel Cass as Head Buyer and Mark Lamphier as Store Manager, we have a remarkably strong and experienced leadership team. I am also so grateful to Carole Horne, who told me almost a year ago that she wished to retire.”
Flatiron Books announced a number of recent promotions. Sarah Dotts Barley has been promoted to editorial director, young adult, while Jasmine Faustino moves up to publishing manager, senior associate editor. Marlena Bittner moves up to executive director of publicity, while Amelia Possanza is now publicity manager. Finally, Kelly Gatesman has been promoted to junior associate designer, and Jordan Forney moves up to marketing coordinator.
Nate Roberson has been promoted to senior editor for Crown and Crown Archetype. Sarah Grimm has been promoted to senior publicist for Crown, Hogarth, Tim Duggan Books and Broadway Books.
Mary Burns was promoted to president and chief operating officer of Barbour Publishing as of January 1, as Shalyn Sattler moves up to vp of marketing. Burns has been with the company for 23 years. Timothy Martins remains with the company as ceo.
Stephanie Delman has been promoted to senior agent at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates.
At Shambhala Publication, KJ Grow has been promoted to vp, sales and marketing, joining the executive team.
Edmison/Harper Scouting has been appointed North American scout for Sweden’s Natur & Kultur for fiction and narrative non-fiction.
In the UK, Pan Macmillan creative director Geoff Duffield will leave this summer after 16 years with the company to start his own author-brand agency. UK sales director Anna Bond will have a “new and broader” role as sales and brand director, starting in April.
Forthcoming
Caldecott Medalist Brian Selznick will illustrate new paperback editions of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, to be published by Scholastic in July 2018. They will release a collectible boxed set in September.
Knopf announced a new title from Carl Hiassen for publication in April, “a somewhat unlikely book for graduates,” ASSUME THE WORST: The Graduation Speech You’ll Never Hear, and with illustrations by Roz Chast. “Graduation speakers are supposed to offer encouragement and inspiration,’ Hiaasen writes, “That’s not what you need. You need a warning.” In Hiaasen’s “raw appraisal of the real world,” things are mess.
TV
PBS’s previously-announced Great American Read, debuting in May, announced some of the participants in the show. An advisory panel that “minimally influenced” the list of 100 novels competing to be “America’s best-loved book” comprised: Lisa Lucas, Aaron Curtis, Ron Charles, Kim Hubbard, Kevin Young, Nancy Pearl, Shanna Peeples, Calvin Reid, Mary Rasenberger, First Book’s Chandler Arnold, Rob Casper, Kirk Whisler, and Gerald Maa.
“Lending their voices” with appearances on the show are Margaret Atwood, George R.R. Martin, Gaye King, Lauren Graham, John Irving, Bill T. Jones, Diane Lane, Lesley Stahl, Junot Diaz and more.
Black Dog & Leventhal will publish a companion, THE GREAT AMERICAN READ: The Book of Books, in August.
Reporters
The NYT interviews book industry reporter Alexandra Alter as part of an inquiry into “how do New York Times journalists use technology in their jobs and in their personal lives?” Alter “still love[s] print books and find it to be a much more relaxing and immersive experience, but when I’m reading books for work — honestly, the bulk of my reading — the Kindle is incredibly convenient.” She’s on her fifth Kindle since 2010.
The Reporter On A Train:
