Nancy Mercado will join Dial as associate publisher and editorial director starting April 9, reporting to Lauri Hornik. She was previously editorial director at Scholastic.
Brian Perrin has been promoted to vice president, marketing for Harper Business and Harper Wave.
Jaime Green will serve as romance columnist for the New York Times Book Review, writing a quarterly column, which will debut in their June Summer Reading issue. Tina Jordan, the editor overseeing the column, says in the announcement, “This is an enormous and rich genre brimming with novels that celebrate women, love, sex and — last but definitely not least — equality. Jaime’s a wide-ranging reader, and she’ll be diving into as many sub-genres as she can.” Green says of romance: “It’s where I find some of the literary world’s smartest, funniest and most thoughtful writing about relationships — romantic relationships, of course, but friendship and family, too. Romance balances escapist fantasy with astute reflection on the real world, providing a lens through which we can think about love, sex, money, politics, relationships and power. These books hold the whole world in them, and with the promise of a happy ending, they give us the hope and happiness we need to stay optimistic in a challenging world.”
Senior publicist for Bonnier Publishing USA Crystal McCoy has left the company. Until a replacement is hired, director of marketing and publicity Gayley Avery is the main contact for children’s-related PR questions.
Initiatives
James Patterson has pledged another $2 million to school libraries this year, the third donation in his School Library Campaign and an increase from last year’s $1.75 million gift. A partnership with Scholastic Book Clubs, the campaign will once again focus on teachers, distributing $500 grants to 4,000 people to supplement classroom libraries.
Awards
The Audio Publishers Association announced nominations for 26 categories of Audie Awards, with the winners to be announced on May 31 in New York.
The Wellcome Book Prize, honoring “the many ways in which literature can illuminate the breadth and depth of our relationship with health, medicine and illness,” announced its six-title shortlist.