Simon & Schuster vp, director of subsidiary rights Marcella Berger will retire at the end of this year after more than 35 years with the company. In a statement jointly sent out by S&S publisher Jonathan Karp, Touchstone publisher Stacy Creamer and Threshold publisher Louise Burke, they commend Berger for her “stalwart presence” and for being “known and respected throughout the international publishing community for her knowledge, amiable calm, and depth of experience.”
Among the books Berger worked on included every title by Bob Woodward, LIVING HISTORY by Hilary Clinton, THE DYLAN CHRONICLES by Bob Dylan, 35 suspense novels by Mary Higgins Clark, and books by Jimmy Carter, the upcoming memoir by Dick Cheney, Philippa Gregory, A.J. Jacobs, and Karl Rove. “Name any publishing right that could be licensed or sold and it’s a certainty that Marcella has licensed or sold it, from translation rights to permissions to an app for THE BRO CODE,” the publishers said. Berger will attend the Frankfurt Book Fair, where S&S will honor her with a reception: “It is evident to anyone who has ever spoken to Marcella how much she values those friendships, and we hope you will join us in taking this opportunity to express how much we all value Marcella, and how grateful we are for all she has done for our authors.”
Kerri Kolen will join Hyperion as Executive Editor on September 6, where she will focus on acquiring book projects in such areas as pop culture, humor, sports, memoir, and fiction. She has spent the past nine years at Simon & Schuster, where she is currently a senior editor.
Sally Dedecker has been named Director of Education for BEA, responsible for producing and directing the annual trade show’s conference program. In addition, Dedecker will also lead the BEA Conference Advisory Board, work with BEA staff to create programming for the BEA Insight Author Stages and oversee and produce the BEA DIY Conference. She will also maintain her consultancy business Sally Dedecker Enterprises.
Liza Cassity has been promoted to associate publicist at Dutton.
Lisa Leshne has formed The Leshne Agency, a new literary agency representing authors of narrative and prescriptive non-fiction, especially on sports, wellness, business, political and parenting topics, as well as commercial fiction and young adult and middle grade books. Leshne was most recently with LJK Literary, and her new agency will also offer services to authors who may wish to explore the self-publishing route via a variety of platforms and in partnership with Author Solutions.
Rob Crawford will be leaving his position as editor at the Overlook Press to work with author and historian Jon Meacham as researcher on his new biography of Thomas Jefferson. Rob will also be working on his own book, Brilliant Families, forthcoming from Counterpoint Press. He can be reached at rcrawford7@gmail.com.