First reported by the Washington Post’s Ron Charles via Twitter, director of the NEA’s national reading initiatives and Big Read evangelist David Kipen‘s position has been eliminated and he will leave the organization at the end of the year. Andrews McMeel publisher Kirsty Melville will move up to the new position of president of AMP’s book division, continuing to report to company ceo and president Hugh Andrews. He notes “she skillfully conceived, developed, and launched AMP’s cookbook program, streamlined our product offerings, accelerated our digital and online presence, and provides energy and leadership to editorial, marketing, sales, and production teams […]
Personnel
People: Paulsen to Launch Eponymous Children's Imprint; Knopf and Random Canada Merge Editorially; and More
President and publisher of Putnam Children’s for the last 15 years Nancy Paulsen will launch an eponymous imprint, Nancy Paulsen Books in 2011. She plans to publish 12 to 15 picture books, middle grade and young adult novels a uear. Paulsen will keep her current position until a replacement is named, with a search underway now. Paulsen says in the announcement, “I am thrilled with the opportunity to return to my true passion full time–editing. My imprint will focus on publishing a select group of picture books that are eye-opening and inventive, along with fiction, from culturally diverse and distinct […]
People
Our apologies; yesterday’s notice about was accidentally confusing in that we truncated the name of the recently-deceased John Anthony Aldren Turner, 63. As noted, Turner was publisher/packager/sales director at illustrated books company Cynthia Parzych Publishing in New York, which he ran with his wife. In other sad news to share: Patricia Kienzle Ross, 66, died on December 5, from a rare neurological disorder. She used voice recognition software to dictate an as-yet-unpublished autobiographical novel, Sleight of Hand. An influential children’s book editor and author of many titles, Ross was a senior editor at Knopf-Pantheon Children’s when she left publishing in […]
Remembrances: Mark Gates, Paul Nathan, John Aldren
Mark Henry Gates, 57, died last Friday of lung cancer. A longtime Midwest sales rep for Farrar, Straus and Holt, Gates was PW’s “rep of the year” in 2006. A CarePages notice says that “with tongue-in-cheek, he referred to himself as ‘the Willy Loman of the book trade’ and claimed more benefit and conviviality in taking a client to lunch than in filling out a sales report.” In the PW piece from 2006, FSG sales director Spenser Lee said: “Mark is an avid reader, champion of the smaller books, master storyteller and great advocate for his accounts and publishers. But […]
People
Literary and publishing blogger and literary event impresario Ron Hogan will join Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s trade & reference division as director of e-marketing strategy, succeeding Sanj Kharbanda, who has moved to the division’s digital strategy group. He reports to svp, director of marketing Bridget Marmion, starting January 4. Former longtime Lowe’s executive David Shelton, 62, has joined the board of directors at Borders.
Remembering Bookseller Joel Turner
Bookseller and former ABA officer and board member Joel Turner, 58, died this past weekend. He cofounded Under Cover Books in Shaker Heights, OH in 1978 with his siblings Philip and Pamela Turner. In the 90s he turned the focus to serving served businesses, corporate libraries, schools, and public institutions as Undercover Book Service and developed a sideline in antiquarian and used books. Philip and Pamela write: “Plans for memorializing Joel are being considered. For those wishing to mark Joel’s life with a charitable donation we urge you to make contributions to the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression or […]