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Hachette Book Group Reorganizes Lines, Announces About 25 Layoffs As DiPreta Departs

November 13, 2018
By Michael Cader

Hachette Book Group ceo Michael Pietsch announced to staff on Tuesday “a reorganization…that will allow us to focus resources in areas where we see the greatest opportunities for continuing our growth.” The freestanding Hachette Books nonfiction line will become part of the Perseus Books division, reporting to Susan Weinberg, “to bring greater focus and impact to our publishing in this area.” Additionally, Da Capo Press, which had been one of the Perseus imprints, will become part of Hachette Books. The Da Capo name will be used for books about music and popular culture, and Da Capo Lifelong will be a health and well-being imprint of Hachette Books.

Publisher of Hachette Books since it was launched in 2014 Mauro DiPreta will be leaving the company. (He had reported directly to Pietsch.) Created to publish original nonfiction and to house the acquired Hyperion backlist, Hachette Books also absorbed the books and employees of the cancelled Weinstein Books joint venture (which had been a Perseus imprint) a year ago. Pietsch says that Hachette Books will publish approximately 90 new nonfiction titles a year going forward. On Monday the company had announced that longtime Da Capo publisher John Radziewicz is retiring, without announcing a successor. Weinberg will serve as acting publisher and Pietsch says a new Hachette Books publisher “will be announced as soon as possible.” That consolidation will eliminate “several positions” at Da Capo and Hachette Books. (The Seal Press imprint becomes part of Basic Books.)

In a separate reorganization, Hachette Nashville will put the recently-acquired Worthy Publishing together with FaithWords, and they will “consolidate [the] editorial and publishing teams.” As a result of that combination, “several positions in New York and Nashville have been eliminated.” Pietsch noted they also “have eliminated several positions in departments that support our publishing programs.”

In all, a spokesperson tells us that “around 25 employees were affected across the company” by the layoffs, mainly at the imprints being consolidated. Pietsch added in his letter, “I want to thank every colleague affected by these changes for their innumerable contributions to the company. HBG continues to grow, and the steps we’re taking today, although difficult, improve our ability to expand in areas of opportunity and to invest in HBG’s future.”

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