The NYT now has a full obituary for literary agent Robert Lescher. As widely publicized elsewhere, Random House ceo Markus Dohle happily surprised staff at the company’s annual holiday party Wednesday night in announcing that all US employees who have been with the company for a year or more will receive a special $5,000 bonus. (Roughly “a few thousand” people qualify; people who have worked there for less than a year will receive a pro-rated bonus.) Dohle invoked the memory of recently deceased cfo Anne Davis and said the “thank you payment” was one of the last initiatives he and […]
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People, Etc.
Benjamin Lee will join the Atria Publishing Group as associate publisher on January 2. He moves over from Simon & Schuster, where he was most recently director, sales, retail and marketing, overseeing Target, Readerlink, Baker & Taylor, Ingram, Kobo, Google, various other digital aggregators and the Christian retail market including Family Christian, Lifeway and Mardel. Elizabeth Psaltis will join the Gallery Books Group in the newly created role of marketing director, reporting to Louise Burke. Psaltis, who was previously advertising and promotion director for Berkley, NAL, Riverhead Trade, Perigee, and Penguin Press, will be responsible for marketing efforts for Gallery, Threshold, […]
People: Oprah Chooses Ayana Mathis Debut For Book Club 2.0
Oprah Winfrey’s revamped, Occasional Book Club 2.0 has selected Ayana Mathis‘ debut novel THE TWELVE TRIBES OF HATTIE (Knopf) as its second choice. The book was originally set for publication in mid-January but has been moved up to release today instead. As part of the announcement Oprah said: “The opening pages of Ayana’s debut took my breath away. I can’t remember when I read anything that moved me in quite this way, besides the work of Toni Morrison.” Oprah had picked Cheryl Strayed’s WILD in June, following the book’s publication in March. At the time, she said the OBC2.0 would feature “several […]
People
Mark Bloomfield has joined Regnery as director of sales. Previously he was associate publisher at Harvard Business School Press. Deputy publisher of Gallery, Threshold and Pocket Anthony Ziccardi has left the company after seven years. His last day was December 3. Going forward, Ziccardi’s responsibilities will be handled by an associate publisher and a marketing director, both of which will be newly created positions within the group. Colin McGee is no longer with Sellers Publishing. He can be reached at colinmcgee@maine.rr.com. Longtime literary agent Robert Lescher, 83, died November 28. Christopher Davis, 71, who worked at Dorling Kindersley since its […]
People, Etc.
Patrick Mulligan has resigned from Gotham Books, to work full-time for Pop Chart Lab, a design startup he cofounded in 2010. He can be reached at patrick@popchartlab.com. Mark Short joins Houghton Mifflin Harcourt as svp and head of international markets. He was at Pearson. The Bookseller has updated their piece on United Agents’ acquisition of AP Watt: 12 of 16 AP Watt staffers are joining UA as part of the merger. In the UK, Christian publisher Lion Hudson will publish crime and women’s fiction aimed at a broader audience through a new imprint, Lion Fiction, set to launch in spring 2013. […]
United Agents Completes Acquisition of AP Watt
The week’s second exhibit in literary agency consolidation: In the UK, United Agents has finalized their acquisition of venerable AP Watt, the Bookseller confirms, after first reporting on the talks in September. Only five members of AP Watt’s staff are joining United Agents in the transition, however, starting next week: Natasha Fairweather will join United Agents’ Robert Kirby as joint head of the literary department, and Linda Shaughnessy will serve as joint head of foreign rights. AP Watt executives Caradoc King and Derek Johns will also join United Agents as partners, and agent Jon Elek is staying with the group […]