Janet Hill Talbert will join Nelson Books as executive editor, starting June 14. She was most recently senior editor at Guideposts Books and Inspirational Media.
Anna Cooperberg has joined Hay House as editor, with a focus on metaphysical topics. Previously, she was assistant editor at Workman Publishing.
Jess Zimmerman will join Quirk Books as editor on July 6. She was previously editor in chief at Electric Literature.
At Harlequin Trade Publishing, Justine Sha has been promoted to senior publicist, and Lia Ferrone has been promoted to publicist.
At Books Forward, Elysse Wagner has joined as a campaign strategist; she was previously a marketing strategist for nonprofits. Corrine Pritchett has joined as publicist and digital marketing strategist; she was previously a journalist and social media manager. Simone Jung has joined as publicist and digital marketing strategist; Jung was previously a social media influencer. Cindy Allman has joined as a digital marketing strategist; she was previously a social media influencer.
Princeton University Press is launching PUP Speaks, an in-house speaker’s agency that will “represent a cohort of PUP authors, working with them, from signing, to develop global speaking platforms.” Katie Stileman will lead the agency; she previously directed global publicity and author relations at the MIT Press.
Picks
The Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick for June is Seven Days in June by Tia Williams (you can sample it now in our Buzz Books 2021: Spring/Summer anthology.)
Mergers
Independent commission rep groups Chesapeake & Hudson and Melman-Moster Associates have merged. Covering the the Mid-Atlantic and New England, the combined team has eight field sales representatives, headquartered at the current Chesapeake & Hudson offices in Virginia (and operating under the Chesapeake & Hudson name).
Initiatives
Princeton University Press has launched its own speakers’ agency, PUP Speaks. It is led by Katie Stileman, who previously directed global publicity and author relations at the MIT Press. They note that PUP Speaks is “actively engaging organizations, institutions, and speaking venues across Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America, with speaking events already confirmed for 2021 and into 2022.”
Awards
The Lambda Literary Awards announced winners in a number of categories Tuesday evening, with Ana-Maurine Lara receiving the Randall Kenan Prize for Black LGBTQ Fiction; Sarah Gerard and Brontez Purnell receiving the Jim Duggins, PhD Outstanding Mid-Career Novelist Prize; Nancy Agabian receiving the Jeanne Córdova Prize for Lesbian/Queer Nonfiction; and Taylor Johnson and T Kira Madden awarded the Judith A. Markowitz Award for Emerging LGBTQ Writers. Full list of winners here.