At Little, Brown Children’s, Alvina Ling has been promoted to fiction editorial director, and Julie Scheina is moving up to editor. At Open Road, Lauren Naefe joins the company as senior digital marketing manager, focusing on publishing partnerships and author brand marketing, and reporting to chief marketing officer Rachel Chou. She was at Harper, Doubleday and most recently the National School Climate Council. Allison Myers Underwood will report to Naefe as marketing manager (she was at Knopf Doubleday); Laura De Silva has been promoted to associate digital marketing manager, reporting to Chou; and Justin Mitchell has been hired as assistant […]
Distribution
Layoffs at Barnes & Noble Distribution Warehouse; Big Q1 Earnings Drop for BAMM
Barnes & Noble laid off an unspecified number of employees at its distribution warehouse in Monroe, NJ earlier this week. In addition, the Social Security Administration is looking into possible discrepancies in employment information at the center, though a BN spokeswoman said “the reduction in workforce … has nothing to do with the Social Security inquiry,” and declined to say how many employees were being questioned in the matter. MyCentralJersey.com Sales for Books-A-Million’s first quarter dropped 11 percent to $104 million, with store comps falling 13.2 percent from last year (when the company reported a 3.6 percent drop from 2009.) […]
People: Grann to Retire; Hannigan Salky Getzler Agency Opens; and More
After more than 40 years in publishing, and more than 10 years with Doubleday, editor-at-large Phyllis Grann will retire from the company on June 9. “Phyllis is among the towering figures who have shaped book publishing,” said Knopf chairman Sonny Mehta in a statement. “We know her as a brilliant editor and savvy businesswoman, but more important, in my view, is the role she has played as a confidant and mentor to many in our industry. I certainly have learned a great deal from her.” Grann says, “as much as I have enjoyed the work, I now feel it is time […]
Random Children’s Adds Two Imprints, and More
Random House Children’s is getting two more paperback imprints for middle-grade and YA books: Ember, for bestsellers and award winners, and Bluefire for “beloved fantasy novels.” In distribution news, Harper Canada will handle sales, marketing, and distribution of Pan Macmillan UK‘s titles in Canada as of June 1. The British publisher had been with the now-bankrupt H.B. Fenn.
Briefs: CEO Letters from Borders, Lonely Planet; Zondervan Warehouse to Close; and More
In the wake of yesterday’s news that Lonely Planet would shift most of its web operations to the UK and lay off approximately 70 employees, CEO Matt Goldberg went into more detail about the reorganization in a memo to staff. In addition to reiterating the reorganization causes – losing $13 million on foreign currency due to a strong Australian dollar and reducing costs by 18 percent – Goldberg indicated the company’s digital revenues climbed to 21 percent from from 9 percent over the past four years, “which indicates our digital business has momentum.” Borders CEO Mike Edwards is taking his […]
People, Etc.
Stephanie Hargadon joins St. Martin’s as senior publicist on May 16. Previously she was associate publicist at Macmillan Audio/Macmillan Young Listeners. In editorial promotions at Simon & Schuster Children’s, Kiley Frank has been promoted to associate editor at Atheneum; Amy Currier is assistant managing editor; and Emily Fabre is assistant editor, Margaret K. McElderry Books. In the art department, Giuseppe Castellano is now art director for Little Simon; John Daly is associate art director for Simon Spotlight; Jessica Handelman is associate art director for Pulse and Aladdin; Lauren Rille is associate art director; Laura Roode is senior designer; and Nick Sciacca […]