Penguin Random House announced to US employees a new Student Loan Repayment Assistance Program that starts in January. The company will provide all full-time employees who have been employed at least one year with a student loan repayment of up to $1,200 annually — for up to seven and a half years — totaling a maximum of $9,000. CEO Markus Dohle writes: “I know all too well that student loan debt burdens a great deal of our colleagues…. We have always believed in doing our part to tackle broader societal challenges by starting within our own communities. We want to honor the investments you […]
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The Zora Neale Hurston Trust is now being represented by the Joy Harris Literary Agency. (Hurston’s work was previously represented by Victoria Sanders & Associates.) Singer-songwriter, poet, and novelist Leonard Cohen, 82, died Thursday. Jared Bland at his longtime publisher McClelland & Stewart said in a statement, “His work, in all its forms, touched our hearts, informed our lives, and made our world better. It is almost impossible to imagine a world without his singular voice. His presence will never be forgotten. His profound art will endure.” Literary agent Ed Victor celebrated 40 years in business at a party in London on […]
Denmark’s JP/Politikens Forms Swedish Publishing House, Polaris
Denmark-based publishing company JP/Politikens will launch a new publishing house in Sweden, Polaris Förlag, concentrating on literary fiction, crime and thrillers, and popular nonfiction, in the second half of 2017. Polaris, which will operate as an independent unit of JP/Politikens and based in Stockholm, will be overseen by Jonas Axelsson, most recently director of Bonnier Group and ceo of Partners in Stories. JP/Politikens managing director Lene Juul said in the announcement: “The Swedish book market is interesting as we currently see a positive market development. And with Jonas Axelsson we have found the right person to start our new business […]
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Former chief sales and marketing officer at Workman Walter Weintz has joined Guinness World Records as vp, publishing sales, Americas, Publishing Trends reports. They also note that Frank Autunnale has left his position as vp, finance at Hachette Book Group. Mindy Stockfield will join Scholastic on December 1 as svp, marketing, creative and multiplatform, trade publishing, report to trade president Ellie Berger. Most recently Stockfield has been svp of marketing at MTV, prior to which she was vp, marketing and digital media for the Hyperion adult trade book division. At Ten Speed Press, Ashley Lima is promoted to senior art director. At Sourcebooks, Beth […]
People: Thien Wins Giller Prize
Madeleine Thien won the Giller Prize for her novel Do Not Say We Have Nothing (Norton/Knopf Canada), which was shortlisted for the Booker and also won the Governor General’s Prize for Fiction. Thien will receive $100,000 (CA) along with the prize. Christine McNamara has been appointed to the new position of vp, marketing strategy at the Penguin Publishing Group. Previously she was vp, partnerships & content marketing at Penguin Random House’s consumer marketing development group, which announced its own round of promotions: Katherine McCahill moves up to vp, director, partnerships, consumer events, and apps; Lilly Kim is promoted to director, partnerships; […]
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Dan Lubart will leave his position as svp strategy and publishing operations at Hachette Book Group at the end of the year, to focus full-time on his data strategy and modeling company Iobyte Solutions. Jeanette Shaw has left Tarcher Perigee, where she was an editor for the past 12 years, to start her own freelance editorial service firm, JS Editorial. Krista Vitola will join Simon & Schuster Children’s as senior editor. Previously she was an editor at Delacorte. At Knopf Books for Young Readers, Karen Greenberg has been promoted to assistant editor. Quressa Robinson has joined D4EO Literary Agency as associate […]