Suzanne O’Neill will join Grand Central as vp, executive editor on February 1. Previously she was vp, executive editor at Crown Archetype and Three Rivers Press.
At the Berkley publishing group, Brent Howard has been promoted to executive editor. Amanda Ng and Katherine Pelz have both been promoted to associate editor.
At Random House Children’s, Alice Jonaitis has been promoted to executive editor.
Novelist (High Dive, March 2016) and editor Jonathan Lee has joined Catapult as senior editor, acquiring both books and original web content. He was most recently an editor at A Public Space.
Londa Alderink moves over to Zonderkidz and Blink YA as vp, marketing director. Previously she was senior marketing director for Zondervan’s non-fiction trade team.
At St. Martin’s, Karlyn Hixson has been promoted to senior marketing manager.
Renata Sweeney has been promoted to marketing associate at Open Road.
At The Gernert Company, agent Erika Storella is adding responsibilities as director of operations.
The Los Angeles Times has appointed Carolyn Kellogg as their books editor, with editor Devin Maharaj explaing that her role “will go beyond the printed word to explore ideas, film, art and society.” Kellogg has covered books for the paper since 2008 and launched its Jacket Copy blog.
Awards
The National Jewish Book Award winners were announced Wednesday. Bruce Hoffman’s Anonymous Soldiers: The Struggle for Israel, 1917-1947 (Knopf) won the Book of the Year category, while the fiction prize went to The Last Flight of Poxl West by Daniel Torday (St. Martin’s) and the first-ever children’s prize was awarded to Laura Amy Schlitz for The Hired Girl (Candlewick Press).
In Canada, the shortlist for the Taylor Prize in nonfiction was announced, with the winner to be named on March 7.
Partnerships
The Association of American Publishers (AAP) has created a summer internship program in partnership with the United Negro College Fund, offering paid internships with publishers in New York, Washington, Boston, and St. Louis to 10 “high-achieving African American students…with an interest in pursuing a career in the publishing industry.”
AAP vp Tina Jordan says in the announcement, “Attracting African American student interns to the publishing industry is an important step our member organizations are taking to expand workforce diversity and inclusion efforts.” Executive director, student professional development programs at UNCF Taliah Givens adds, “We commend AAP and the publishing industry for their initiative in recognizing the need for ongoing diversity and providing opportunities for students to learn that a career in publishing can be a realistic option.”
Penguin Random House is partnering with the ALA on the second annual Readathon Day, slated to take place on May 21, 2016. This year’s Readathon is presented as part of ALA’s Libraries Transform campaign, and will benefit ALA’s Every Child Ready to Read initiative, a program that supports the early literacy development of children from birth to age five in libraries across the nation. Leading up to and during #Readathon2016, individuals can contribute to ALA and Every Child Ready to Read by visiting the Firstgiving Fundraising page.
World Pub Wholesale, a newly formed wholesaler of book closeouts, remainders and promotional books, will be the exclusive sales force for remainder, overstock, hurts and mixed skid sales for Quarto Publishing Group USA and all of its imprints (including Book Sales, which has been a remainder dealer for more than 50 years.)