Sony Pictures has hired Ballantine Bantam Dell senior editor Ryan Doherty for the newly-created position of vp, literary development, based in Sony’s New York headquarters. Doherty will pursue “book-to-film-and-television opportunities for all content divisions across Sony Entertainment” and the hire is designed to “deepen and expand the studio’s efforts in these areas.” President of Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group Doug Belgrad says in the announcement, “By bringing Ryan in to this new executive position in New York, we are strengthening our commitment to finding the highest quality and most commercial source material for each of our divisions. Ryan is a […]
Personnel
McIntosh to Lead Penguin Adult Publishing As Kennedy Exits Later This Year; Malaviya and Updike Promoted
Penguin Random House US president and coo Madeline McIntosh will take over responsibility for all adult publishing at the Penguin Group as president of a newly-created, consolidated Penguin Publishing Group. The previous division between the Penguin and Berkley/NAL groups will go away as the two are united “under a single guiding vision and leadership structure,” Penguin Random House ceo Markus Dohle writes. He says, “the time is right to create a one-leader management structure for the entire Penguin adult business, while also maintaining the identity of each of its individual publishing imprints.” With McIntosh’s appointment, Penguin Group president Susan Petersen Kennedy […]
New Leadership for Verso Advertising
President and owner of Verso Advertising Denise Berthiaume will give up day-to-day management responsibilities for the agency to become chairman and owner as of October 1. Longtime Hachette Book Group svp, advertising Martha Otis will join Verso as president on October 1. (Hachette hired an outside firm late last year for the first time in over 20 years to handle media buying and some creative development.) Another Verso veteran, vp and managing director Michael Kazan will be retiring after 10 years with the agency. Berthiaume says in the announcement, “Martha possesses the perfect match of experience and drive to lead the agency […]
People, Etc.
Former ceo of Atlantic Books Toby Mundy has established his own literary agency, Toby Mundy Associates. He will use Ed Victor Ltd.’s service operation Bedford Square Literary Management for “turn-key back-office service.” TMA is the first client for the new service. Amazon cfo since 2002 Thomas Szkutak will retire from the company in June 2015. Brian Olsavsky, vp of finance for the company’s global consumer business, will take over. Olga Massov has joined Phaidon in New York as project editor, food, reporting to Emily Takoudes. Melanie DeNardo has joined Little, Brown Children’s as publicity director. Previously she was deputy director of publicity at Henry Holt. In addition, […]
Remembering RH’s Fairchild; Memorials for Foster and Schiffrin
Former Random House vp, field director for adult sales Betty Fairchild, 67, died last week in Roanoke, VA. After starting her career as a bookseller, Fairchild worked in sales for Random House from 1975 until her retirement in 2002. PRH executive Jaci Updike writes: “During an era when many were predicting the imminent demise of independent bookstores, Betty was a fierce and fearless advocate for the indies, and for the reps who called on them. After Random House was united with Bantam Doubleday Dell to form the new, greater Random House, she led a variety of initiatives to transform the […]
People, Etc.
Alessandra Bastagli has joined Nation Books as editorial director, filling the position vacated earlier this year when Carl Bromley moved to The New Press. Most recently she has been digital features editor at Al Jazeera America, after working at Free Press until it was merged into the Simon & Schuster Publishing Group in fall 2012. Meg Cassidy has left Simon & Schuster, where she was a publicity manager, to pursue freelance work in publicity, culinary pr, and event planning from Portland, OR. She can be reached at mcassidy9@gmail.com. At their annual meeting later this month, the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) will honor […]