Annette Pollert-Morgan has been promoted to editorial director of Sourcebooks Fire. Dave Horvath, senior marketing manager for Rowman & Littlefield, is retiring on March 30 after 41 years in publishing. Chris Artis has joined Shreve Williams Public Relations as affiliated publicist. Previously he was head of editorial communications at Reuters. Correcting yesterday’s item, the new vice president of sales and marketing at Rowman & Littlefield is Karen Allman. Meredith Vieira will host PBS’s The Great American Read series, which launches May 22. Audio Macmillan Audio will start publishing the audiobooks of Nora Roberts and her pseudonym J. D. Robb in the winter of 2019. St. Martin’s has […]
Archives for March 2018
Sales Flat At Penguin Random House
Bertelsmann reported full year 2017 results on Tuesday morning in Germany, with sales at Penguin Random House just below flat, at €3.359 billion (down €2 million from 2016). Operating EBITDA for the publisher fell 2.9 percent to €521 million (down €16 million), “particularly as a result of negative exchange rate effects.” (Per our style, from here forward, we will refer to the PRH reporting division, which includes the separate Random House Germany, as PRH+, and will use PRH for just the Penguin Random House joint venture.) At PRH on its own, sales were €3.075 billion, up €16 million from a year ago, reflecting the […]
People, Etc.
Seth Russo, vice president and director of international sales at Simon & Schuster will retire on April 20, after 35 years in international sales. Executive director, global digital and international sales Colin Shields will take on the direct, day-to-day responsibility for the international sales channel. Newly reporting to him will be Rema Badwan and Danielle Cumbo, and Christina “Chrissy” Festa will add audio sales to her portfolio as director, audio, digital and online sales. The New York Times Book Review is adding a new monthly column about graphic novels and comics. The columnists will be Hillary Chute, author of Why Comics? From […]
Curr Named President and Publisher of Harper One, Amistad, Rayo
Former Atria Publishing Group president and publisher Judith Curr‘s new job has finally been announced: she will join HarperCollins on April 2 as president and publisher for Harper One, Amistad, and Rayo, reporting to ceo Brian Murray. In her new role, Curr plans to increase Harper One’s annual publishing output from 50 titles to 120 titles per year, while also growing the Amistad and Rayo trade lists. “I have always greatly admired Judith’s creative and entrepreneurial approach to publishing, evidenced by The Secret exploding into a cultural phenomenon, and Fredrik Backman’s A Man Called Ove climbing bestseller lists around the world,” Murray […]
People, Etc.
Marie-Claire Wastiaux will retire as secretary general and chief financial officer of Hachette Livre on July 1. She will be succeeded by Fabrice Bakhouche, who has been promoted to deputy secretary general and deputy chief financial officer. Hachette Livre ceo Arnaud Nourry said in the announcement: “Marie-Claire Wastiaux’s exactness, skill and enthusiasm have contributed to the growth of our company since 2003. I have hugely appreciated her expertise, work output and dedication and will miss her sorely.” Diana Calice will retire as IPG’s managing director, Spanish distribution program after more than 10 years. Spanish sales manager Kelsey Wayne will succeed […]
People, Etc.
Sourcebooks has appointed Moxie & Company as their brand licensing agency. More changes to UK-based website Pottermore have resulted in some layoffs. BuzzFeed had suggested there were “significant” reductions, citing only a “well-placed source.” A company spokesperson told the site, “As a result of a reorganization at Pottermore, there have been a small number of job losses. These reflect the evolution of the business and are being handled as sensitively as possible.” Pottermore tells the Bookseller the job cuts are related to an “exciting new strategy” they will unveil soon. According to their annual filings with Companies House, the workforce […]