At WaterBrook, Multnomah and Convergent, Keren Baltzer has joined Convergent Books as editorial director, reporting to Tina Constable. She was previously senior acquisitions editor at FaithWords. Becky Nesbitt joins as executive editor, acquiring books for WaterBrook, reporting to Laura Barker. She was previously vp, editor-in-chief of Howard Books. Paul Pastor has joined as editor for WaterBrook and Multnomah, reporting to Laura Barker. Pastor previously worked as a freelance collaborator, writer, editor, and consultant. Porscha Burke moves over from Random House, becoming senior editor, publishing manager, Christian projects, reporting to Campbell Wharton.
Louise Quayle has joined Audible as a director of acquisitions and content partnerships, reporting to Kristin Lang. Most recently she was senior acquisitions editor at Penguin Random House Audio.
Vintage and Anchor director of publicity Kate Runde is leaving at the end of this week to relocate to Boston with her family.
Bookselling
Longtime black-owned bookstore Sankofa Video Books & Cafe has received a 10-year tax abatement in a preliminary vote by the Washington, DC city council. (It still requires a second vote and signature by the mayor to become official.) Co-owner Shirikiana Gerima says, “I hope that the Sankofa example is a spark for protections to be put in place for small black businesses. Legacy businesses who’ve been here through crack, through, in some cases, the riots, through gentrification—the latest devastation, they need to be supported in really, really concrete ways.”