After more than 20 years at ICM, agent Heather Schroder left the firm recently to start her own agency, Compass Talent. Her first deal under the new banner, with Flatiron Books, is posted today in our deal reports. Kelley Allen has joined Humble Bundle as director of ebooks. Previously she was a senior vendor manager at Kobo and before that, director of ebookstore and publishing relations at Diesel. At Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Jen Reynolds has been promoted to director of field sales. At Vintage/Anchor, Claudia Martinez has been promoted to design director. Manager of production and digital distribution at Random […]
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At Scholastic, Durya Aziz has been promoted to svp, international education publisher in the international division. At St. Martin’s Press, Yaniv Soha and Sara Goodman have both been promoted to editor. In the UK, Hodder & Stoughton has promoted Kate Howard to associate publisher. Former poet laureate of New Jersey, author of numerous books of prose, poetry, and criticism, and political activist Amiri Baraka, 79, died Thursday in Newark. He had been hospitalized in December because of an undisclosed illness but a spokesman for his son’s mayoral campaign told the Star-Ledger late last month his condition was improving.
People: Ned Vizzini, 32, Dies
Author Ned Vizzini, 32, committed suicide Thursday evening in Brooklyn, the borough medical examiner’s office confirmed to us (as well as to the LAT.) Vizzini wrote the young adult novels IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY, turned into the 2010 film of the same name, THE OTHER NORMALS and BE MORE CHILL, as well as the middle-grade novel HOUSE OF SECRETS (co-written with director Chris Columbus), with a sequel set to be published by Balzer + Bray on March 25. Vizzini also worked as a TV writer on shows including “Teen Wolf” and “The Last Resort.” He is survived by […]
People: Janson-Smith to Retire
Patrick Janson-Smith will retire in fall 2014 when he turns 65, after his fortieth consecutive Frankfurt Book Fair. He is currently publisher of the boutique imprint Blue Door at Harper UK, which he founded in 2008. The line will close after his retirement. He says: “The industry has changed so much in the past few years. The whole industry is in a bit of a mess at the moment, but it can only get better. I think Stephen Page said, if you can’t understand it, get out. I think that’s good advice, which I intend to follow. I’m a book man, and I […]
People, Etc
Rosetta Books announced multiple promotions: Nav Khalsa has been appointed digital marketing director; Greg Freed is production and distribution director; Michelle Weyenberg has been named digital marketing and promotions manager; Hannah Bennett is now production manager; and Peter Clark is production manager. Also, the head of Rosetta’s UK office Jonathan Ward will relocate to Beijing in January, where his duties will include supervising a new, exclusive partnership with the China National Publications Import and Export Group to distribute their english-language ebooks catalog to libraries, schools, and other institutional accounts in China. Rosetta ceo Arthur Klebanoff notes that “The market in […]
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 […]