Geoff Shandler is stepping down from his role as editorial director of Custom House to pursue other opportunities. He joined William Morrow five years ago and led the imprint from inception. Morrow executive editor Peter Hubbard takes over Custom House as vp, editorial director, reporting to Liate Stehlik. Executive editor Katherine Nintzel moves over from William Morrow as well, now reporting to Hubbard. Stehlik says the two will “develop and expand the Custom House
line,” which “will re-launch with new works” in 2021.
Sydney Rogers has been promoted to editor for Harper One.
Former Vintage and Anchor director of publicity Kate Runde has joined Podium Audio as director of acquisitions and author relations. She will be responsible for developing the list of self-published authors and acquiring new works in key genres.
At Kobo, Nathan Maharaj has moved over to the communications team as director, content marketing.
In the UK, Lucy Swinburn has been promoted to head of books for WH Smith.
Martina O’Sullivan has been promoted to publisher of Penguin Business UK.
Jim Lehrer, 85, longtime PBS anchorman and author of more than 20 books, died on January 23 in Washington.
Controversies
AMERICAN DIRT publisher Flatiron Books issued a statement Thursday, writing: “We are carefully listening to the conversation happening around the novel. The concerns that have been raised, including who gets to tell which stories, are valid ones in relation to literature and we welcome the conversation.” Flatiron’s focus is on the book’s intention and impact on readers: “AMERICAN DIRT asks the question, ‘How far will a mother go to protect her son?,’ and in the course of answering that question, gives us empathy with our fellow human beings who are struggling to find safety in our unsafe world.”
Audio
Booker-winning author Marlon James and his editor at Riverhead Jake Morrissey are launching a new podcast called Marlon and Jake Read Dead People. James and Morrissey wrote on the site, “We’re here to tell the truth about books and authors we think are worth knowing about, and we’re going to be honest. Brutally, unsparingly honest. Which is why the authors have to be dead.” The first two episodes will be available on Monday, January 27, with the next six released weekly on Mondays.
Inside Publishing
The UK Publishers’ Association released results from their 2019 survey of 12,700 employees from over 57 publishing companies of varying sizes across academic, education and consumer publishing. They found that “the number of women in senior leadership roles and representation of LGB+ staff are high within the industry, but there is still progress to be made in areas such as socioeconomic diversity, regional diversity and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) representation.” They also found that only 8.1 percent of employees — or at least respondents — were over age 55, even though a full one-third of the workforce will be over 50 this year.