Stephen Power will join Thomas Dunne Books as executive editor on December 5. Previously he was a senior editor at Amacom. Bret Kehoe has joined Sourcebooks as managing editor. Previously, he was lead editor at Questions Galore. Awards The National Book Critics Circle nominated six titles for their John Leonard Prize, given to a first book in any genre: The Mothers, by Brit Bennett The Girls, by Emma Cline Here Comes the Sun, by Nicole Dennis-Benn Homegoing, by Yaa Gyasi The Nix, by Nathan Hill Grief Is the Thing with Feathers, by Max Porter
Personnel
People: Stanley Forms New Firm, and More
Janklow & Nesbit partner, managing director and head of foreign rights Cullen Stanley has left to form her own firm, Cullen Stanley International Agency. Stanley has worked at J&N since 1991. The agency said in a brief statement it “is very pleased to announce that it is spinning off its foreign rights department in support of” Stanley’s company. She will handle all UK/Commonwealth and translation rights for Janklow & Nesbit. In other people news, Beth Vesel has left the Irene Goodman Literary Agency to reopen her own agency (which she ran until joining Goodman as svp in early 2014). Kathleen Schmidt […]
People, Etc.
Jason Wells will return to Simon & Schuster Children’s in the new role of vp, marketing and publicity on December 7, after 14 years at Abrams Children’s. (He worked at S&S Children’s in the early 2000s.) VP, director of marketing Lucille Rettino will leave the company after working for the division for the more than 10 years. Wells will run what Children’s division president and publisher Jon Anderson calls “an expanded and unified publicity and marketing force, adding additional positions throughout the department…. Placing them both under the direction of Jason recognizes the remarkable talent he has shown throughout his career for nuts-and-bolts organization, […]
People
Larissa Helena has joined Pippin Properties as manager of subsidiary rights and associate literary agent, having relocated to NY. Previously she was executive editor at Fantástica Rocco in Brazil. The San Francisco Chronicle has a profile on the return this summer of Berkeley native Steve Wasserman to take over Heyday Books: “Now, in what might seem an improbable new career chapter, Wasserman, at 64, has come home to Berkeley to run Heyday, the scrappy, purpose-driven publisher known for its beautifully made books about the natural environment and native peoples of Northern California…. Wasserman is committed to both affirming and enlarging the […]
People
John Murray managing director Roland Philipps will leave his position at the end of the year, after 22 years at Hodder & Stoughton. Murray will work as consultant, and focus on his own writing. In Germany, Nora Mercurio will be promoted to director of rights and foreign rights department at Suhrkamp and Insel, where she has worked since 2006. Current director Dr. Petra Hardt wanted to transfer leadership of the department, the company reports, but will remain part of the unit.
People
Gail Brussel has joined Penguin Press as publicity manager. Most recently ran her own PR company, Gail Brussel Book Publicity. In addition, Juliana Kiyan has been promoted to assistant publicity director. As we reported last month, Kate Childs left her position as director of Special events and event partnerships at Random House to join CAA. The agency has now officially explained that Childs takes the “newly-created position within the books department to create unique live events for client book releases. She will “work in collaboration with publishing houses to develop strategic programming in support of a book launch that expands upon a […]