Maria Guarnaschelli, 79, “the editor behind the most highly acclaimed and successful cookbooks of our time, including the monumental 1997 revision of The Joy of Cooking and the new classic The Food Lab,” died February 6 of complications of heart disease. During her four-decade book publishing career, most recently at Norton from 2000 to 2017, she introduced and edited books by culinary visionaries including J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, Judy Rodgers, Rick Bayless, Maricel Presilla, Jim Lahey, Stella Parks, Dave Arnold, and Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn, among many others. She also acquired and edited works by authors including David Quammen, Steven Pinker, Anne Enright, and Deborah Tannen.
Norton aptly notes in their full obituary, “Cookbook authors who worked with Ms. Guarnaschelli found her demanding and exacting, but also passionately engaged with their work.” Norton chair and president Julia Reidhead reflected in a memo on descriptions from colleagues: “brilliant; exuberant; indomitable; a stunning reader; laser-like in spotting quality or falsity; Shakespearean in her comic sense; irreverent; charming; and—repeatedly—beloved.”
Harvard Business Publishing ceo David Wan will retire in June of 2021, after leading the organization since 2002. He is “credited with transforming the organization into a global leader in the practice of management,” growing revenues to approximately $270 million from $90 million. SEVP and chief product innovation officer Josh Macht will serve as acting CEO while the company conducts a search.
Kathy Zuckerman has been promoted to director of publicity at Knopf. Emily Reardon and Rose Cronin-Jackman each become publicist.
Liza St. James has been promoted to associate editor at Transit Books.
Deputy publisher of the Simon & Schuster trade imprint Richard Rhorer will become publisher of a new, yet-to-be-named, nonfiction lifestyle imprint, starting March 15. CEO Jonathan Karp writes, “Richard and his team will publish books that address topics foundational to how we live — from the meals we prepare, the relationships we nurture, and the households we manage, to the personal and professional goals we set and strive to achieve.” Executive managing editor, production and copy editing Irene Kheradi will move to the Simon & Schuster trade imprint as vp, associate publisher, reporting to Dana Canedy, on March 8. And Samantha Cohen has been promoted to vp, director, production strategy.