At Bonnier Publishing USA, Brett Duquette, formerly senior editor at Sterling Publishing, has joined Little Bee Books and Yellow Jacket; Rachel Gluckstern, formerly production editor at Scholastic, has joined BuzzPop as editor; Lauren Carr, formerly publicity coordinator at Scholastic, has joined the children’s group as publicist. Stephani Stilwell has been promoted to designer and Michael Ploetz has been promoted to coordinator, marketing and publicity.
Also having their jobs eliminated at Picador as a result of the “realignment” we reported on Thursday are creative director Henry Yee (who worked there for 26 years) and senior designer LeeAnn Falciani, who leave in August, and associate editor Pronoy Sarkar, whose last day is November 30. Macmillan president Don Weisberg explained in his memo, “We have been working to make sure we bring greater focus across all our lists. One outcome of these efforts is to keep the trade paperback and trade hardcover editions consistent, and to leave the originating house in charge of both editions whenever possible.”
At Chronicle Books, Karen Finlay has been hired as national account manager, Barnes & Noble and Ingram. Previously she was senior manager for national accounts and field sales at Lonely Planet. In addition, Shelley Sanders has been hired as director of national specialty and mass market sales; Camille Geeter has been promoted to trade sales coordinator; and Eve Brodsly has been promoted to sales & marketing materials coordinator.
In the UK, Antonia Hodgson, editor-in-chief of Little Brown UK, is leaving on August 24 to focus on her writing career. She has been with the company for 23 years. Hachette UK ceo David Shelley said, “She is one of the all-time great editors in my opinion, with uniquely eclectic taste, acquiring some of the most successful Little, Brown books ever across imprints and genres. As well as being a genius editor, Antonia has also been a wonderfully supportive and nurturing colleague and has given wise advice and encouragement to many of us over the years.”
In an interview with the Guardian, author Chuck Palahniuk says of the alleged accounting fraud by Donadio & Olson bookkeeper Darin Webb, “Money seems to have been taken over such a long period that they haven’t even established yet how much was taken, and from what accounts.” (The criminal complaint charged embezzlement of approximately $3.4 million.)The paper writes, “Depending on the terms of his next book deal, and on how much money is recovered in a settlement, Palahniuk may have to sell his house to stay afloat.” As for the criminal case, Webb’s attorney and US Attorney Christine Magdo have been in plea discussions since early June, and they recently got another continuance of those talks until July 28.
Macmillan‘s offices were closed Thursday and Friday due to a steam pipe explosion at Fifth Avenue and 21st Street, and will reopen on Monday.
Awards
The Romance Writers of America announced the winners of their RITA Awards in 13 different categories. Among the honorees were: Alexis Daria’s Take the Lead (best first book); Lexi Ryan’s Falling Hard (contemporary romance long); Pintip Dunn’s Seize Today (young adult romance); and Kelly Bowen’s Between the Devil and the Duke (historical romance long).
Last weekend the International Thriller Writers announced the winners of their Thriller Awards, including Final Girls by Riley Sager (best hardcover novel), Grievance by Christine Bell (best paperback novel), and The Freedom Broker by K.J. Howe (best first novel).