Brendan Deneen is leaving Macmillan to join “multi-platform production company” Assemble Media as president of literary and IP development, still working on both publishing and film/TV: “I look forward to working with authors, agents and publishers on book ideas, and tracking the publishing world for material that would make fantastic, commercial films and television shows, while also developing original IP directly for the screen.”
At Simon & Schuster Children’s, Milena Giunco has joined as publicist. She was most recently publicity coordinator at Scholastic.
Ingrid Beck has joined the Crown Publishing Group as senior editor, WaterBrook and Multnomah. Previously she was acquisitions editor for Moody Publishers in Chicago.
At Chronicle Books, Cynthia Shannon has been hired as food and lifestyle marketing manager. Previously she was a Marketing Specialist at Goodreads. In addition, Maggie Edelman has joined as designer in the entertainment group. Previously she was a designer at 180LA.
Mary Evans Inc. is moving its primary office to Hudson, NY while still retaining its office in the East Village.
Awards
In the UK, Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie won the Women’s Prize for Fiction.
Forthcoming
Scribner will publish the late Barbara Bush‘s YOUR OWN TRUE COLORS: Timeless Wisdom from America’s Grandmother, a 64-page book reproducing her 1990 commencement address at Wellesley College, on June 12. The simultaneous digital audio features the original audio her address.
Harassment Files
Boston Review editors Deborah Chasman and Joshua Cohen shared the results of an internal investigation in Junot Diaz and consideration of his role at the publication: “On the basis of what we have learned, we have decided to continue our editorial relationship with Junot” their fiction editor for the past 15 years. They included a lengthy explanation, along with writing: “We know that some people will disagree with our decision. Not everyone associated with Boston Review agrees with everything we say in this letter. That is how it should be. These are complex issues.” But, “What we heard about Junot from the people we contacted was consistent with our experience of him in his role as editor. We heard about a supportive editor and mentor who had opened doors for people.”
Poetry editors Timothy Donnelly, B.K. Fischer, and Stefania Heim posted a statement disagreeing with the editors, and announcing their resignations as of July 1. “What distresses us are the letter’s apparent arbitration of what constitutes inclusion in the #MeToo movement and its lack of attentiveness to power dynamics in a star-driven media and publishing landscape.”