At the American Booksellers Association, longtime development officer Mark Nichols will retire following the 2017 Winter Institute after 16 years with the organization. As of January 1, 2017 Matthew Zoni will be promoted to director of development and publisher relations and will become a member of ABA’s senior staff. Peter Reynolds will have an expanded role as project manager and with primary responsibility for the Indie Next Lists and the Indie Bestseller Lists. Gen de Botton will move up to ABC group manager. Additionally, David Grogan has been promoted to director of public policy and advocacy and will also join ABA’s senior staff. Kimberly Whalen has left Trident Media […]
New Imprints
People: Young Named Canongate Chairman, and More
Former ceo of Orion (and before that ceo of Hachette Book Group USA) David Young will become chairman of Canongate Books in January. He takes over from Christopher Bland, who is retiring after 22 years in the position. CEO Jamie Byng says in the announcement, “David Young is someone who I have admired and respected for almost as long as I have been in publishing. To have David succeeding Christopher makes me and the rest of the Canongate board both reassured and excited.” At Dystel & Goderich, Michael Bourret has been made a partner and the agency is changing its […]
ReaderLink Buys Old Reader’s Digest Children’s; Bellow Moves Imprint to SMP; and More
Readerlink has acquired the former Reader’s Digest Children’s Publishing, which has been operating as Studio Fun International, and will merge the list into their Printers Row Publishing Group and existing group of imprints. The release notes that “on a transitional basis, some SFI employees will continue to perform similar duties and tasks under a transitional arrangement with ReaderLink” — suggesting that in general, the employees of SFI will not have a permanent home at ReaderLink. The list includes titles licensed from Disney, Disney*Pixar, Marvel, and LucasFilm properties, as well as books under license from Nickelodeon, DreamWorks, Mattel, Hasbro, and Sesame Workshop. ReaderLink ceo Dennis Abboud […]
New Young Adult Imprints for St. Martin’s and PRH Canada
St. Martin’s is launching a crossover, coming-of-age imprint publishing “in and beyond the YA category,” Wednesday Books. Launching in fall 2017 and aiming for 10 to 20 titles a year, it is led by Jennifer Enderlin and editorial director Sara Goodman. SMP will publish Rainbow Rowell, Courtney Summers, Roshani Chokshi, and all of their young adult titles going forward under the Wednesday Books name. As Enderlin notes in the release, it is the first time in 16 years that SMP has launched a new imprint. Goodman adds, “Coming-of-age is a broad category and I’m eager to find titles for both the adult and young adult sides of […]
People, Etc.
Vicki Jaeger has joined Portable Press — part of ReaderLink’s Printers Row Publishing Group — as developmental editor. She was marketing manager at Mattel Consumer Products, and most recently a licensing consultant for entertainment and consumer products companies. At Donaghy Literary Group Valerie Noble has been promoted to senior agent. Amanda Ayers Barnett has joined the company as an agent (she has been a freelance book editor for New York Book Editors), and Alex Franks has joined as a junior agent. The Authors Guild announced that, for the first time since its founding in 1912, it is inviting “emerging writers” who have not yet published a book to join the […]
Hogarth Lines Up Sarah Jessica Parker Imprint
After playing the writer in “Sex and the City,” actor Sarah Jessica Parker is the latest celebrity to set up an imprint. She will be editorial director of SJP for Hogarth, where she “will help to find, edit and publish three or four new novels a year,” with the first list expected to publish in 2018. Parker was enlisted by Crown publisher Molly Stern. Parker tells the NYT she’s looking for “great stories” and “global voices” which they note “is another way of saying she can’t say too much.” SJP joins recently announced forthcoming lines from the likes of Andy Cohen, Lena […]