Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing president Jonathan Karp announced Monday that Touchstone will be eliminated at the end of the year, with its titles for 2019 and beyond reassigned to the Atria and Gallery lists. That decision was made in the wake of Susan Moldow’s forthcoming retirement. “Touchstone’s front list frequently overlaps with our other adult publishers, particularly Atria and Gallery Books,” Karp writes, “and I believe that going forward we will be best served by integrating Touchstone’s talented staff within these imprints.” Starting in January, executive editor Matthew Benjamin, associate editor Kaitlin Olson, executive editor Trish Todd will move to […]
Bookstores
Barnes & Noble Appoints a Schottenfeld-Backed Director
At the recommendation of activist shareholder Richard Schottenfeld, who controls a roughly 6.9 percent stake in the company, Barnes & Noble has added a new director to their board. They appointed Hain Celestial founder Irwin Simon as an independent board member. Simon is in the process of stepping down as ceo at Hain, after which he will serve there as non-executive chairman. BN executive chairman Len Riggio says in the announcement, “His intellect, leadership, marketing savvy and expertise will benefit Barnes & Noble greatly.”
People, Etc.
At Simon & Schuster Children’s, Devin MacDonald has joined as marketing manager. She was most recently brand manager for Harry Potter, Captain Underpants, and Dog Man at Scholastic. Audrey Gibbons has been promoted to publicity manager; Jill Hacking moves up to marketing operations and events associate; Amy Hendricks becomes marketing associate; Samantha Benson has been promoted to associate publicist; and Emily Hutton becomes associate director of sales. Kjersti Egerdahl has been promoted to senior editor at Amazon Original Stories. Patrick Crotty joins Random House Graphic as designer. He was previously publisher and co-founder of Peow. Morgan Vogt has joined Sourcebooks as marketing associate. Tina Wilson has been promoted […]
Bookselling: Indigo Opens in NJ, Shakespeare Opens in Philadelphia; McNally Jackson Searches for New Space
There are noteworthy new store openings to report. Canadian bookseller Indigo opened their first US store as planned, a 30,000-square-foot space at The Mall in Short Hills, NJ. It includes a Wellness Shop, a Paper Shop, Indigo Baby, Indigo Kids — and a piano. And in downtown Philadelphia, Shakespeare & Co. opened the first of three planned new stores, slightly behind the scheduled summer debut. The 2,800-square-foot space includes a cafe and an Espresso Book Machine. Separately, McNally Jackson‘s well-known 5,700-square-foot storefront on Prince Street in Soho has been put up for lease, following the store’s 14-year residence at the […]
People, Etc.
Karen Yates has been promoted to associate literary agent at Yates & Yates. Helen Richard has been promoted to associate editor at Putnam. At Harper Collins, Ashley Mihlebach has been promoted to the newly-created position of director, sales for general books, national accounts, Amazon. Yale University Press celebrates co-winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics William Nordhaus; they publish his books The Climate Casino: Risk, Uncertainty, and Economics for a Warming World and A Question of Balance. Briefs Barnes & Noble‘s monthly Book Buzz newsletter does not name a “book of the month” selection for October, but the chain does point […]
Barnes & Noble Shares Jump As Board Considers Sale
After adamantly denying that the company was interested in a sale, on Wednesday after the close of the market Barnes & Noble reversed itself and announced that the board “has decided to enter into a formal review process to evaluate strategic alternatives for the company.” They say that decision came after “expressions of interest from multiple parties in making an offer to acquire the company, including from the company’s chairman, Leonard Riggio.” The stock jumped by more than 25 percent in early trading on Thursday on the news but has been giving back some ground since, up about $1.10 a share or […]