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People, Etc.: Halperin and Regan Return, Together

August 19, 2019
By Erin Somers

Mary Francis will take over as director of Penn Press at the University of Pennsylvania on September 23. She has been editorial director of University of Michigan Press since 2015 and spent more than 16 years at University of California Press.

At Chronicle Books, Rebecca Hunt has been promoted to editorial director, entertainment. Christina Amini has been promoted to executive publishing director, adult trade.

Arcadia’s director of national sales and marketing Kate Everingham will leave the company on December 31 after over 20 years there, after which she will assist on special projects in a consulting role. She will transition from overseeing the national accounts sales and marketing team on September 3, when Amy Kaneko joins the company as director of national sales and marketing. Kaneko was most recently with Weldon Owen and Insight Editions.

Cindy Uh has departed from Thompson Literary Agency.

Rachel Sanders has joined Houghton Mifflin Harcourt as director, field sales and events. She was previously marketing director at Readerlink.

Danielle Plafsky has moved over from to Knopf to Penguin Press, where she is associate marketing director.

Abby Endler has been promoted to publicist at Knopf.

Further to our noting of the NYT‘s listing for a new publishing reporter, Alexandra Alter confirms to us that she is remaining on the beat as the books desk expands with an additional reporter.

Imprints
In the UK, Kerry Enzor will return to Quercus to run a new nonfiction imprint that will originate popular reference, lifestyle, gift and travel titles for international markets, set to launch in 2020. She is currently publisher for Quarto’s White Lion.

Front Page Detectives, a true crime imprint comprising the works investigative journalist Dylan Howard, launches in September from Skyhorse for print and Start Publishing for digital.

Forthcoming
Regan Arts will release what looks to be their first new title in quite some time, from Mark Halperin — his first commercial venture since he was accused of sexual harassment by multiple women in late 2017. (At the time, Penguin Press cancelled his book deal, and HBO, MSNBC, and CAA all ended their business relationships with him. The Wylie Agency never said anything publicly about their relationship with him.) HOW TO BEAT TRUMP: America’s Top Political Strategists on What It Will Take is set for publication in November. At least it means that a wide range of established publishers still declined to do business with Halperin.

Judith Regan (who was fired from HarperCollins shortly after the house cancelled IF I DID IT, a book she commissioned that was ghostwritten under OJ Simpson’s name) says in a statement: “I do not in any way, shape, or form condone any harm done by one human being to another. I have also lived long enough to believe in the power of forgiveness, second chances, and offering a human being a path to redemption. HOW TO BEAT TRUMP is an important, thoughtful book, and I hope everyone has a chance to read it.” But as Margaret Sullivan at the Washington Post writes, part of the problem is that Halperin is gaining a second chance/path to redemption/forgiveness without having ever made amends or apologizing or taking responsibility for his misbehavior.

People were quick to object online, and questions are being asked of the “more than 75 top Democratic strategists” Halperin says he interviewed for the book. And at least some of those people are putting distance between themselves and the book. David Axelrod wrote on Twitter, “He emailed me three questions about the 2020 race for a book he was writing and I replied in a few sentences, without giving enough thought to how my participation would be used or interpreted. By answering Halperin’s questions, I did not in any way mean to excuse his past, egregious behavior and, in retrospect, I regret responding at all.” Former governor of Michigan Jennifer Granholm added on Twitter, “I’m angry at myself too” for participating. “Spoke with him by phone once a few months ago about how to defeat Trump in the Midwest. Did not mean to hurt anyone, ever; should have done more research. My sincere apologies.”

So far the association has not been made, but perhaps next people will remember that Regan’s imprint is financed by Leon Black, who has recently struggled to explain his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and “has gone to great lengths to distance himself from” Epstein.

Awards
The 2019 Hugo Awards were announced Sunday at the World Science Fiction Convention in Dublin, in 20 categories. The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor) won best novel, while Artificial Condition by Martha Wells (Tor.com) won best novella.

Filed Under: Authors, Awards, Free, New Releases/Forthcoming, Personnel

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