Longtime vp, director of publicity at Penguin Maureen Donnelly, 59, died Monday at Overlook Medical Center in Summit, NJ of breast cancer. Before joining Penguin, Donnelly worked at Simon & Schuster and New American Library in a publishing career that spanned 40 years. A wake will be held in Roselle, NJ on Wednesday, with a funeral to follow the following day. Condolences can be offered here. Penguin Random House announced a number of appointments in the recently-united special markets department. Pam Roman is vp, director, specialty retail & wholesale sales and business development; Tammy Cabot is director, national accounts, specialty sales; Mary Margaret Callahan is director, in-house […]
Personnel
People, Awards, Etc.
Barbara Kline Pope has been appointed director of the Association of American University Presses, succeeding Philip Cercone. Pope is director of the National Academies Press and will serve a one-year term as AAUP director. Costco’s July Pennie’s Pick is THE GIVER by Lois Lowry. Donna Tartt’s THE GOLDFINCH and Doris Kearns Goodwin’s THE BULLY PULPIT won the Carnegie Medals for fiction and nonfiction, respectively. Start Publishing is in the process of acquiring Whiskey Creek Press, as covered in two posts at Writer Beware. Poet and novelist Dermot Healy, 66, died over the weekend in County Sligo, Ireland. He was the author […]
Wiley Realigns Publishing Lines In New Knowledge Services Group
Following Wiley’s recent acquisitions of CrossKnowledge and Profiles International (for a total of approximately $250 million), the company has reorganized the expanded Professional Development division in which they reside. That division now has two major groups: Knowledge Services (comprising the publishing programs, plus the test prep and certification business) under managing director Joan O’Neil, and Talent Solutions, under managing director (and CrossKnowledge ceo) Mickael Ohana. As a result, a modest number of senior book-publishing side employees are leaving the company. “We recognize that these changes, while necessary, impact colleagues who have served the business with dedication, and we thank them […]
People
New York’s Book Culture bookstores have reportedly fired 5 of their 30 employees following a vote to unionize earlier this week, the Gothamist reports. The story quotes emails from owner Chris Doeblin they obtained: “It was indicated to me . . . that two people in our mangament [sic] group voted in the union and effectively undermined the interests of the store. The store always being in opposition to the Union. Unfortunately there is no other recourse but to remove these people from our employ effective immediately.” The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union indicates it “has filed an Unfair Labor Practice […]
People, Etc.
At Penguin Random House in the US, Tom Cox has been promoted to vp, adult mass merchandise and distributor sales, the company’s newly formed cross-company division, reporting to Jaci Updike. In addition, Penguin vp, director of distributor sales Ken Kaye will retire at the end of 2014 after more than 45 years in the industry. International sales director Simon Littlewood is leaving Random House UK, where he has worked since 1997, by “mutual agreement.” Deputy ceo of Penguin Random House UK said Ian Hudson said, “Sadly, after much discussion we have been unable to find a mutually suitable role for Simon within Penguin […]
People, Etc.
Arabella Stein is stepping down as co-director of Abner Stein after a leave of absence to “pursue a new direction”, the Bookseller reports. Stein began at Abner Stein in 2002 and moved up to co-director in 2011 after the death of her father (and the agency’s founder & namesake). Sandy Violette and Caspian Dennis will remain as co-directors, and said in a statement: “We would also like to thank Arabella wholeheartedly for her contribution to the agency. We will of course miss Arabella but fully support her decision, and wish her every happiness and success in the next stage of […]