Hachette Book Group has officially announced the hiring of Joe Mangan as evp and chief operating officer, starting February 3, filling the position vacated earlier in the year when Ken Michaels moved to Macmillan Science. HGB ceo Michael Pietsch says in the announcement: “Joe’s reputation is one of the best in our industry, and his skills, trade publishing experience, and leadership style are a perfect match for HBG. With his deep expertise in IT and vision for our digital future, his wealth of experience building distribution businesses, and his insight into strategic business development, Joe will be a tremendous asset […]
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People: Heffernan to Retire from Penguin
Longtime president of adult hardcover and children’s sales for Penguin Dick Heffernan will retire at the end of the year after more than 24 years with the company (and almost 40 years at a company enfolded into Penguin Random House). PRH coo Madeline McIntosh notes with “much regret” after “[trying] very hard to persuade him to change his mind about retiring” that “working together with Dick during these first few months in our merged company has been a terrific experience for me, and for our Random House group, as it has always been for our Penguin colleagues. And with us having […]
People: Hayes to Retire from Harlequin, and More
Harlequin ceo and publisher Donna Hayes “has decided to retire” at the end of the year, with current Harlequin North America coo Craig Swinwood set to become the new publisher and ceo on January 1 “as part of the succession planning process.” Parent company Torstar president and ceo David Holland says in the announcement: “Donna Hayes has served Harlequin and Torstar with great distinction for the past 28 years. She has led Harlequin from being a series romance publisher to becoming a broad-based publisher of women’s fiction and has demonstrated invaluable foresight in positioning Harlequin for a more digital future.” As for Swinwood, who has […]
People, Etc.
Gina Rizzo has joined Harper Children’s as senior publicist. She was a publicist at Tarcher/Penguin. Gillian Flynn‘s GONE GIRL will finally be published in paperback by Broadway Books on April 22, 2014. Crown says the novel, whose adaptation to film will be released next fall, has sold more than 4 million copies in hardcover and ebook in the US and an additional 2 million copies internationally. Osprey Publishing has acquired British Wildlife Publishing. The company produces field guildes and books on British natural history along with two magazines. Founders Andrew Branson and Anne Branson will leave the business, and the unit […]
People, Etc.: Andre Schiffrin Dies At 78, and More
Co-founder of The New Press and longtime editor in chief and managing director of Pantheon prior to the Andre Schiffrin died in Paris on Sunday from pancreatic cancer. He was 78. The NYT calls him “a publishing force for 50 years, whose passion for editorial independence produced shelves of serious books, a titanic collision with a conglomerate that forced him out to stem losses, and a late-in-life comeback as a nonprofit publisher.” And they certify in print a definition of Pantheon as “a Random House imprint where making money was never the main point.” Bertelsmann’s president of corporate development and […]
People, Etc.
Publishers Weekly named American Booksellers Association ceo Oren Teicher and the ABA’s board of directors as their “person of the year” for 2013, “for their role in leading the resurgence of independent bookselling.” Former DC entertainment vp of publicity (and before that publicist at Vintage and Anchor) David Hyde has launched Superfan Promotions in Los Angeles. The company will create publicity and marketing campaigns, events, and social media engagement for authors, artists, conventions, festivals, stores, entertainment companies and publishers. Managing director of Penguin Digital in the UK Anna Rafferty will serve as chair of the London Book Fair’s Digital Minds […]