At Macmillan, Cristina Gilbert takes the new role of svp, strategic publishing development, reporting to Dan Schwartz. She will help look across the company’s list — “What are we publishing too much of, too little? Where are there opportunities for entering into new genres and markets? How is our company’s advance risk distributed across our list and across time?” — to further a “holistic understanding of Macmillan’s publishing profile, its risk exposure as well as its potential.” Patricia Rivera will now report to Gilbert, as well as continuing to assist Don Weisberg.
Filling Gilbert’s previous position, Malati Chavali moves over to Flatiron Books as svp, associate publisher on August 31, reporting to Bob Miller. She will also lead the Diversity & Inclusion Council jointly with vp, diversity, equity and inclusion LaToya Rose.
Leonard Marcus has been named editor-at-large at Astra Publishing House. He is the author of 30 books and a frequent contributor to The New York Times Book Review and Parenting magazine.
Bookselling
Among notable re-openings Powell’s main store reopens its Green and Blue rooms today with limited hours, and limited occupancy.
Updates
Oprah Winfrey said in a video message that O: The Oprah Magazine is “evolving” rather than ending, and promises at least four special print editions in 2021.
Like other big live events, the Miami Book Fair will be held virtually this year for the first time in 37 years. It will still run from November 15 through November 22, featuring over 17 English-language authors and 80 Spanish-language authors.
Program director Lissette Mendez says they have learned from other events in planning their revamped website and digital events, which will includes “a blend of pre-recorded events and livestream, possibly recorded interviews with authors and live Q and A sessions. Some events will be available on the website for one night only; others may linger online longer.”
Corporate
The next card in the battle over Lagardere‘s board is being played. As suggested recently, a letter to the company seen by Reuters from activist investor Amber Capital, now teamed up with fellow shareholders Vivendi, demands four board seats between them, including one for Amber founder Joseph Oughourlian. They want Lagardere to call for a shareholder meeting within the next 15 days and hold that meeting within the following 50 days to vote on the nominations, or else they say they will go to court.
One board member, Aline Sylla-Walbaum of Christie’s, has confirmed that she stepped down ahead of the surprise recent vote to extend Arnaud Lagardere’s term as managing director.
At the last meeting in May, Amber’s effort to install eight of its own nominated directors failed, but several of their candidates received more than 40 percent of votes — and that was before they increased their own holdings, and teamed up with Vivendi, which had been supporting management at the time.
Forthcoming
Vanity Fair has an excerpt from Brian Stelter‘s HOAX, which releases August 25, about Fox News and “its unprecedented alliance with the White House.” As one anchor “said with remorse in his voice, ‘We surrendered. We just surrendered.'” Sean Hannity, who leads the public face of that alliance, is like most other people said by an associate to have privately declared “more than once” of Donald Trump, “‘he’s crazy.'” And Hannity?