Andrew Rein will join Zando as head of sales & retail content development on April 13. He has been at Penguin Random House for the past 13 years, most recently as vp, director of mass merch national accounts. Emily Hillebrand has been promoted to assistant editor at Diversion Books, acquiring in the categories of self-development, pop culture, current events, science, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Elizabeth Lazowski has been promoted to assistant editor, children’s at Chronicle Books. Jenny Choy has been promoted to director, school and library marketing at Abrams Children’s. At Penguin Random House Canada, Rachel Guglielmelli is joining the production […]
Book Fairs
Frankfurt Book Fair Opens Registration for a Live Event
Frankfurt Book Fair organizers intend to convene a live, if smaller, exhibition this October, and have opened registration for the event. Organizers say, “This year’s book fair is planned as an in-person event with additional digital formats, and can be flexibly adapted to pandemic-related developments. The focus will be on the international rights business and public events.” Director Juergen Boos, says in the announcement, “In recent months we’ve held in-depth discussions with our customers and created a plan tailored to the needs of our exhibitors. With our updated conditions for participating in the fair, and our generous cancellation policy and […]
People, Etc.
Chuck Adams is leaving his full-time position as executive editor of Algonquin Books, after 16 years. He will continue on as editor-at-large for Algonquin, working with authors he has edited in the past. Additionally, he plans to continue developmental and editorial work on a freelance basis. Maya Fernandez has been promoted to associate editor at Beacon Press. Kate Johnson will become senior vice president of direct for Harper Christian and Harper Focus. Michelle Richter has been promoted to senior agent at Fuse Literary. Rachelle Gardner is launching Gardner Literary, a full-service agency “representing diverse authors at the crossroads of faith […]
No More Book Expo
Organizers Reed Pop announced Tuesday the end of Book Expo — as well as Book Con — which they are “retiring.” Last year’s show was cancelled due to the pandemic, and a 2021 show would have been hard to pull off on the normal schedule as well — particularly since the show itself had diminished steadily for years. Event director Jenny Martin explains in the announcement, “The pandemic arrived at a time in the life cycle of BookExpo and BookCon where we were already examining the restructure of our events to best meet our community’s needs. This has led us […]
Bologna Book Fair Announces June Dates, Takes Aim at LBF and Book Expo with General Publishing Initiative
Following quickly on the London Book Fair’s hopes for an awkwardly-timed live book fair next year running June 29 to July 1, the Bologna Children’s Book Fair has also announced new dates, and expanded ambitions. Bologna now hopes to convene their fair from June 14 through June 17, moving from their original dates in mid-April. Both events may be ahead of sufficient vaccination to encourage live gatherings at scale, particularly while hoping to draw visitors from around the world. Note, for example, that Macmillan Publishers in the US recently declared that they will not open their trade publishing offices in […]
Frankfurt Book Fair Plans Restructuring and Layoffs, Further “Modernization”
The Frankfurt Book Fair, which employees a robust staff year-round, announced “a restructuring program for its operating company” that will include both layoffs and organizational changes. “It is already clear that the existing structures are to be streamlined, for example by merging departments. This will also involve job cuts,” they said in a statement. The changes follow the cancellation of this year’s live fair, and continuing uncertainty over the effect of the pandemic on future events: “As a result of the COVID-19-related loss of income this year and the uncertain planning perspective, the available restructuring options are currently being examined. […]