Kara Welsh will join Ballantine Bantam Dell as executive vice president, publisher on January 19, reporting to Gina Centrello. Previously Welsh was svp, publisher at the Berkley Publishing Group, after joining NAL as publisher in 2001. Reporting to Welsh are svp, associate publisher and editor-in-chief Jennifer Hershey, and svp, deputy publisher Kim Hovey. Centrello said in the announcement: “Kara and I both began our publishing careers at Pocket Books, where she rose to vice president, deputy publisher. I loved working with her. Each day, she demonstrated her can-do, solutions-centric publishing sensibility, her open, collaborative, calm work ethic, and her advocacy […]
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Tara Parsons will join Touchstone as editor-in-chief on January 4, reporting to Susan Moldow. Previously she was editorial director, fiction at Amazon Publishing. Moldow said in the announcement: “Tara’s range of commercial acquisitions combined with the unique experiences she has gained from working within an array of publishing models will make her a valuable and dynamic leader of the Touchstone editorial team.” Sally Kim had been editorial director at Touchstone until leaving for Putnam earlier this year. It’s the first time Touchstone has used the title editor-in-chief for a number of years. Mark Tavani will join Putnam as vp, executive […]
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LAT book critic David Ulin is leaving the paper on December 15, among those taking the company’s buyout offer. He writes to LA Observed: “This is an opportunity for me to focus further on my writing, which I have been wanting to do.” The newspaper’s book editor Joy Press left quietly earlier in the year as well (and is working on a book for Atria), and apparently also took a buyout. That seems to leave Carolyn Kellogg as the only staff member focused on books. Rob Kirkpatrick has joined The Stuart Agency as a literary agent, focusing in nonfiction, including […]
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William Wood will join Barnes & Noble as chief information officer, reporting to ceo Ronald Boire. Wood previously served as cio at EZCORP. Boire said in the announcement: “We are thrilled to welcome Bill to Barnes & Noble and are excited to have someone with such broad experience in information technology join the team. Bill is a proven leader in this area and his appointment signals our continued commitment to being a leading omni-channel retailer.” At Penguin Children’s, Jocelyn Schmidt has been promoted to vp, associate publisher, reporting to new president Jen Loja. Schmidt was executive director of brand management. In […]
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Elizabeth Schaefer will join Del Rey as senior editor on December 14. Previously she was an editor at Scholastic. Lindsay Walter-Greaney has joined Little, Brown Children’s as associate managing editor. She was most recently senior production editor at Scholastic. In Sweden, publisher Lind & Co. and literary agent Carina Brandt at Brandt New Agency have partnered on Stockholm Noir Agency, a new international literary agency focusing on Nordic crime and suspense novels, headed by Jenni Brunn (previously a project coordinator at Lind & Co.) As part of the joint venture, Stockholm Noir will represent Lind & Co.’s list. KF Literary Scouting […]
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Miriam Altshuler will join DeFiore and Company on January 1. She has run her own agency for the past 21 years, working with authors including including Robb Forman Dew, Elizabeth Rosner, Maya Lang, Andrew Carroll, Marja Mills, Wednesday Martin, and the late Walter Dean Myers. Also joining DeFiore and Company is Reiko Davis, Altshuler’s associate for the last four years, where she will take on some new duties while continuing to develop her own list of clients. Altshuler said in the announcement: “After running my own agency for many years, I am excited to join a company where I will have […]