Following a significant protest from its membership over their handling of a complaint about a member’s behavior at an industry event, 8 of 11 members of the board of International Thriller Writers (ITW) resigned. Before doing so, “to ensure continuity of operations until a new Board is selected by the membership,” the board accepted the resignation of executive director Elizabeth Berry effective July 10, and appointed Kimberley Howe to serve as interim executive director. The ITW did not indicate who remained on the board, but the AP reported that co-presidents Heather Graham and John Lescroart are the ones still serving. […]
Personnel
Zondervan Moves Trade Lines to Nashville, Under New Leadership
Harper Christian announced that it will relocate the Zondervan Books and Zondervan Thrive imprints to Nashville, TN, to “allow for sharing of best practices across the company’s trade book publishing program” for both Thomas Nelson and Zondervan. Webster Younce will become vp and publisher for the two Zondervan trade lines. He has been associate publisher and executive editor at Nelson Books. Senior director of marketing for the Thomas Nelson and Zondervan fiction programs Paul Fisher becomes vp of marketing for the two Zondervan imprints. Zondervan will retain an office Grand Rapids, MI for its other lines, including Zondervan Academic, Zondervan Reflective, […]
Macmillan Creates “A Different and More Inclusive Management Team”
On Monday, Macmillan ceo John Sargent told staff in a letter that the company would make a broad change in its leadership: “It is clear that we have to change who occupies the seats at the table when the important decisions are being made. It can no longer be Don [Weisberg], Andrew [Weber] and me.” They are creating a new management committee comprising 13 people “who will meet regularly to decide on the key issues for Macmillan” and “will focus on running the overall company.” Sargent will not sit on the new committee and “will step back from day to […]
People, Etc.
Amanda Rutter has joined Jennifer Azantian Literary Agency as a literary agent, representing adult, YA and MG fantasy and science fiction. She was previously an agent at Red Sofa Literary Agency. Obituaries Literary agent Felicity Bryan, 74, died Sunday at home of stomach cancer. Bryan was a journalist at the FT and the Economist before joining Curtis Brown UK in 1972. She established Felicity Bryan Associates in 1988. Bryan also authored a number of books on gardening. Robert D. Richardson, 86, Bancroft prize-winning historian known for his biographies of William James and Ralph Waldo Emerson, died last week after sustaining head injuries in a fall. He was the husband […]
People, Etc.
Kim Brown has joined Welbeck Publishing Group as vice president, sales & marketing for North America. She was most recently president, North America for Parragon Books. Obituaries Carlos Ruiz Zafón, 55, Spanish author of novels including The Shadow of the Wind, died on Friday at his home in Los Angeles of colon cancer. Luigi Spagnol, 59, publisher of Gruppo editoriale Mauri Spagnol, died on June 14 after a long illness. The publisher writes, “Luigi Spagnol felt a profound respect for writers and readers, and never lost a chance to prove it with words of appreciation for all those who are […]
People, Etc.
Vice president and publisher of Tor Books Devi Pillai has been named publisher of Tor Teen and Starscape, in addition to her current position. Jane Harris will join Welbeck Publishing Group as group publisher, children’s books. She is currently managing director, children’s trade at Bonnier Books UK. She succeeds Alexandra Allan who has relocated back to Australia. Executive director Marcus Leaver said in the release, “Mark and I are excited to add Jane’s considerable experience to our accomplished senior management team.” Awards Lark by Anthony McGowan (Barrington Stoke) won the UK’s Carnegie Medal, while Tales from the Inner City written and illustrated […]