Sarah Odedina has resigned from her job as children’s publisher at Oneworld after seven months, the Bookseller reports. She tells the magazine she was “not given the support or trust that would be essential to build a successful list.” Oneworld publisher Juliet Mabey says, “We were very disappointed to hear that Sarah has decided to leave after 7 months at the helm of Rock the Boat [the children’s and YA imprint], but we wish her all the best with her new magazine venture, and we will be looking for a new children’s editor in the new year.” Matt Baldacci will […]
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Launch Kids, Masterclasses, and More Added for Digital Book World
We’re starting to add more details on the full programming line-up for the next big Digital Book World, running March 7 – 9. For the first day, before the main DBW conference begins, Launch Kids — the country’s biggest event for children’s publishing — returns. Covering both the consumer and education markets, Launch Kids looks at the latest generation of ideas and content, from the best strategies in book marketing to what’s happening in the physical — and digital — library market, to the trends driving editorial decisions. The program is still in formation, but as usual includes everything from original data on children […]
People
Founder and ceo of Chicago Review Press Curt Matthews announced he will retire from day-to-day management of the company, which is the parent company of Chicago Review Press Books, Triumph Books, and Independent Publishers Group, at the end of the year. Joe Matthews, currently coo of IPG, will take over as ceo in January, while Matthews will remain as board chairman and keep an office at company headquarters to insure a smooth management transition. Matthews, who founded CRP Inc. in 1973, said in the announcement: “It has been a wild ride. The publication of one book turned into a company that […]
People
Former editor and literary agent Tim Seldes, 88, died at home in Washington, DC on Saturday. Seldes bought the agency Russell & Volkening agency in 1972, and retired after selling the agency to Lippincott Massie McQuilkin in 2012. Stacia Decker will join Dunow, Carlson and Lerner on January 2. She has been with the Donald Maass Agency since 2009. Michael Jon Jensen has joined Westchester Publishing Services, a composition and editorial services company, as director of technology. He was part of the startup group at Project MUSE, and for many years was director of publishing technologies for the National Academies Press. Lauren Kretzschmar has been promoted to publicist […]
People: Archer Named President of HMH Trade
Ellen Archer has been hired as president of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Trade Publishing, reporting to ceo Linda Zecher, as of December 7. She takes over from Gary Gentel, “who will retire in 2016.” Archer will be “based primarily” in the New York office, but will also spend time in the company’s Boston headquarters. Archer was president and publisher of Hyperion for 5 years, prior to its sale to Hachette Book Group. Zecher says in the announcement, “For almost a decade, Gary Gentel has led HMH Trade Publishing, spearheading our transition into new media and channels, while building our legacy of award-winning […]
People: Helen Brann Dies, and More
Literary agent Helen Wetmore Brann, 82, died suddenly on Monday of complications from cancer. In July, Brann “entered into a success plan” with ICM. She started her agency in 1974 — among the first women to open her own agency — after working at the Sterling Lord Agency. Over her career she had represented writers including Julian Barnes, Richard Brautigan, Gerald Clarke, Daniel Yergin, Rod McKuen, Barbara Leaming, Stephen Sondheim, Robert B. Parker and Maya Angelou. A private service will be held at a later date. Donations in her memory can be made to the Palliative Care Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. In other personnel news, Rachel […]