Following October’s merger of the Crown Publishing Group with the Random House Publishing Group, under the direction of president and publisher Gina Centrello, she has announced further realignments at the Crown publishing units. Also, the combined division will officially be known as Random House.
SVP, publisher, Crown, Molly Stern will be leaving the company as a result of those additional changes, while Gillian Blake is moving over from Holt as svp, editor-in-chief, Crown Trade, starting January 22. Centrello writes in a separate memo that, “Molly’s commitment to publishing excellence and editorial leadership, and her passionate advocacy for our authors’ works, have defined her…. [She] is a gifted publishing and editorial executive whose accomplishments on behalf of our books and our company are greatly respected and truly appreciated.”
David Drake is promoted to the new role of evp, Crown Publishing, publisher, Crown, responsible for Crown, Crown Archetype, Hogarth, Tim Duggan Books, Three Rivers Press, and Broadway Books. (Those are now the Crown Trade group, and Blake will report to Drake.) He will also “take an active role in helping to direct the acquisition and publishing strategy for the imprints” under Aaron Wehner, who is promoted to evp, Crown Publishing, publisher, Clarkson Potter, Ten Speed Press, Harmony and Rodale Books. (These lines comprise “illustrated and prescriptive non-fiction.”) Tina Constable continues to lead Christian, business and conservative book publishing, now as evp, publisher, WaterBrook, Multnomah, Image, Convergent, Currency, and Forum, and Drake, Wehner and Constable all report to Centrello.
In related promotions: Annsley Rosner becomes svp, deputy publisher, Crown Trade, and Tim Duggan is now an svp, with both reporting to Drake. Jill Flaxman moves up to svp, deputy publisher, for Clarkson Potter, Harmony, Rodale Books, and Ten Speed Press. Campbell Wharton moves up to vp, deputy publisher, WaterBrook, Multnomah, Image, Convergent, Currency, and Forum. Beyond that, “Additional news about our plans for these imprint groups, as well as appointments to support them, will be announced in the New Year.”
Centrello writes: “Under the leadership of David, Aaron, and Tina, the opportunities are enormous to build upon the traditional Crown publishing strengths, and for Random House to provide established and emerging authors with ever-greater publishing platforms and reader-connectivity.”
Separately, Holt president and publisher Steve Rubin wrote of Blake’s departure as December 14, calling her role in the “transformation” of Holt alongside him “pivotal.” He closed, “I will miss her no-nonsense, focused, funny and unselfish wonderfully affable personality, as I know we all will.”